


Aftertales

by deltadasher



Category: Tales of Symphonia, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World
Genre: Original Characters - Freeform, post-dawn of the new world, time for adventures
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-09
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-26 10:47:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 32,004
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21372898
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deltadasher/pseuds/deltadasher
Summary: Exspheres have been rediscovered after a 300 year peace. Curiosity fuels the government, and anyone lacking identification can be taken away for 'experimentation'.Other characters will be added as they appear.
Comments: 2





	1. Confusing New Layout

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story posted to fanfiction.net under the same username like 6 years ago. Old writing, so forgive me in the early chapters.

Luin, named after its constant resolve to be rebuilt after any great disaster, was always a fairly prosperous town. Because of its proximity to the once popular Tower of Mana attracted a lot of tourist attention, and being built across Lake Sinoa helped bring in trade as a fish market. The people were pleasant, the views were breathtaking, and there was usually a warm welcome there for anyone who happened across it.

The last time it was destroyed it had been rebuilt, just as it had been before, aided by the last Chosen of Regeneration and her companions. As a tribute to their kindness three statues were erected: one of the guardian summoner, one of the great healer, and one for the brave hero, all of whom helped the town during their plight against the Desians.

Of course, all of this was common knowledge. This history was taught in every school around the world, prominently so in Luin because of its historical ties to the heroes themselves. In the three hundred years since the rampage of the Giant Tree the last Chosen of Sylvarant and her companions had become legend, overshadowed only by the Great Hero Mithos of the Kharlan War over four thousand years ago. Some of them faded into quiet lives, returning home and starting families, with only the occasional glimpse of fame when the need was called for. Others travelled, helping those whose lives had been uprooted by the tragedies that had struck the world. Memorial sites were common, and always blessed with flowers.

Over the years Luin had grown, expanding onto the mainland surrounding the lake and flourishing still. The main bustle of life was central to the lake, where souvenir shops and fishing boats were about around the docks, always milling with people even around the winter months. Multi storey buildings housed many of the civilians, whilst others were used either as holiday inns or accommodation for families to come and send their children to one of three schools housed in Luin.

Roads had been paved through the streets to allow passage for delivery vans and people travelling by vehicle or carriage, the raised sidewalks on either side keeping pedestrians from harm's way as best they could. They were the main veins through the city, the two leading in coming from the East and West, which eventually lead to Asgard and an abandoned hamlet further south. They were the main source of income for the merchants: easy access from distant towns and cities to see the sights and buy the produce.

The town had matured well over the years. Civilisation had grown and filled out the once small group of houses, turning it into a bustling selection of multi storey buildings, organised schools, and busy shops and markets. In these early hours of the morning metal poles and wooden planks were being arranged to erect the stalls, and children were headed for their respective schools, the younger herded by their parents or older siblings, and each one dressed in pale blue.

In passing the statue of the Great Hero many of the young children stopped to bow their head in respect with smiles, some more than others, much to the pride of their watching parents. A debt of gratitude was owed to the people who saved the world, and by teaching their children the stories of their courage and strength he would live on for centuries.

Today, there was a man stood before it. Wrapped up in an old fire cape of black and red he was reading the plaque at the edge of the fountain, a small smile on his features as his gaze was eventually drawn up to the statue itself. As with every other morning the children walked by, some of them bringing their hands together and offering a small bow to the statue; others were giving the man a curious look, and some were doing both. There weren't usually any people around the statue this early in the morning.

As the bustle died down eventually the man was alone again. It had been a long time since he'd been in Luin, and he was almost surprised at the change that had happened. Everything grew so quickly, it would be hard to keep up.

From up the path along the side of the fountain came the patter of feet rushing in this direction. Dressed in a pale blue shirt and dark shorts a young boy was running as quickly as he could without slipping along the damp wood, a dark leather satchel swinging behind him from across his shoulder as he made a mad dash towards the school across the bridge and at least three streets away. Its distant clock tower poked up from between the rooftops, and when he read 9am on its face he gave a little whine and picked up his pace.

Passing by the fountain the young boy slowed down, staring at the stranger in the dark cloak in curiosity despite his tardiness to school. He was a tall man with auburn hair, a part of his face hidden by the long side-swept locks that hung across the front, and the tip of a scabbard barely touching the floor from beneath the hem of the cape. When the boy slowed down, he turned his head in intrigue much like he had done to him. Brushing longer parts of his blonde hair back behind his ear he stepped up to the fountain away from the man, and after a final quick glance at the stranger he looked up at the statue, pressed his hands together and bowed his head with a small smile.

When he looked up again the strange man was now watching him, which finally bothered him enough to raise his voice a little. "What are you looking at?"

The man chuckled softly, shaking his head before looking up at the statue. "I guess showing such respect to the Great Hero has become a tradition over the years..." he mused aloud, before turning and heading out the southern exit of town.

* * *

The forests around Luin hadn't changed much. Paths were well walked, and some of the woodland had shrunk the closer it was to town, but the deeper areas still seemed as dark and foreboding as always. It was still early morning and Kratos had decided that now would be as good a time as any to begin his exploration. Three hundred years on this merged planet had caused significant changes to a small town like Luin: he hadn't seen these kinds of buildings and road structures for centuries, so Meltokio and Palmacosta must have developed into enormous monsters by now.

Izoold was his next destination, where he should easily be able to travel to Iselia. Like Luin, the skilled fishermen had most likely brought in a lot of market-goers and tourist attention, and so it was probably a thriving town much like its lake-based neighbour. The statues would be all that were remained from the year he left that would look remotely the same.

But the landscape had changed drastically since he'd been gone. Expecting to easily find Hima when he'd first left the altar he'd instead seen three towns: one by the ocean to the west, one hidden in the surrounding forests to the north, and one built into the forest to the east. He could vaguely recognise the Imperial Research Academy from above, but only by the great clock tower that it had. Even with his ability to fly it was hard to get any bearings without a map, but without money there wasn't a point in landing.

So he flew, following the landscape to the east until a recognisable continent came into view: mountainous down the centre, with a curve of plains to the south east dotted with civilisation. Lake Sinoa wasn't hard to spot either, being the largest body of water besides the ocean, though the town surrounding it had surprised him a little initially.

Hours felt like minutes as he walked through the fields. When he first came to the altar by the Tree he never realised how much he'd missed the simple movements of nature across the earth: the perpetual silence of Derris Kharlan was finally broken by the simple rustling of leaves in the wind. The whole of the altar had been overgrown, the enormous hole underneath obscured by bushes and roots that grew out the sides, brightly coloured by thousands of blooming flowers. One of the first things he'd done was sit down by the river, enjoying the sight he'd been without since he'd left on Derris Kharlan.

Luin had been his first interaction with people. Yes, there had been angels with him on Kharlan, but they were rather lacking in conversation beyond 'what would you like us to do now?'. Other than the young boy at the fountain he'd spoken with the owner of one of the stalls by the square, who was selling small, handheld devices named 'arms'.

They were weapons, capable of firing between five and twelve rounds, the likes of which he hadn't seen in many years either. These were far more basic than any he could remember: plunge one in water and that would be the end of it for a while. He was only looking at them when the man who owned the stall started speaking to him, suggesting he buy one if he had the identification to get it.

Shop owners had started becoming brasher by now as well. There was no holding back when it came to selling, and after looking through one or two other stalls - cakes and pastries from Asgard, and finely crafted wooden trinkets from Ozette - he left, realising that they were all after money which he didn't have at the moment.

There were obvious tyre tracks in the earth of the paths, cut up only by the smooth stones and occasional footprints. A few carriages had driven by, pulled along by aged lizards or large birds, which was when he noticed how little wild creatures there were left. He'd seen a few groups of large wolves, insects and the like, as there had always been, but that was about it. They didn't even attack: the first few wolves he'd spotted had growled viciously at him, but backed fearfully into the dark woods without another sound.

People around Luin had been armed. The salesman at the firearm stall was happy to sell his wares. But if monsters were too afraid to attack then what was the point? He hadn't been questioned about his sword but he clearly didn't need it.

"Halt!" He slowed down as he approached the next turn in the path. The trees around here were thick: he could only catch a few partial glimpses between the trunks as he walked, and eventually made out three people standing amongst a group of four or five men in armour. As he approached he could see weapons drawn as well. "State your identification, and the registration for your cycles."

"Yeah, yeah, we got 'em right here…"

They seemed to be soldiers, judging from their matching armour and weapons, and they were harassing two young women and a young man in possession of two two-wheeled vehicles. They were all dressed in brown leather biking gear, and a large bag each was strapped to the backs of the vehicles, stuffed to bursting with possessions.

Riffling through a side pocket of one of them the boy eventually pulled a set of papers into sight and handed them to the nearest guard, who snatched them off him and lifted the visor of his helmet to see them. Eyes narrowed, he read over each one carefully.

"Flanoir…D-rank vehicles?" said the armoured soldier, scoffing slightly as he looked at the cycles again. "I'd believe it too. Piles of junk."

"Do you need anything else? Or is that it?" asked the older woman, doing her best to keep her voice strong. It wasn't difficult to see that both women were a little nervous. The soldier handed back the papers, before stepping to one side and gesturing to the others to do the same.

"You're good to go. Good luck riding those mobile disasters!" The boy started muttering profanities under his breath, but did nothing more than heave the bike back into motion along with his companion, and continued walking.

Who were these soldiers going around demanding identification? Were they the reason people were armed? The boy pushing the cycle had a firearm hanging from a belt around his hip, and the younger of the two women was armed with a mid-length sword. They hadn't drawn them, but they didn't seem to need them either if they weren't being attacked by monsters.

They walked past without noticing him, and the guards up the path carried on their way in the opposite direction. What was with all of this identification business?

He carried on through the woods, making sure the path he was on was different to the soldiers he'd seen. Better to be unseen than to cause a scene, which shouldn't be too hard considering the amount of noise that rusty armour made. He should be in Izoold by morning at least, if the landscape was anything similar to how it used to be. If he just followed the path, he would probably be alright.

His quiet walk through the forest was abruptly ended when he left the safety of the trees, as directly before him twelve guards were stationed on the bridge that joined the two continents. It was too late to turn around - they spotted him the moment he left the woods - but slowing down his pace so much had drawn the curiosity and suspicion of every single guard. One of them stepped forward: he was dressed in silver lined with gold and appeared to be much cleaner than the rest.

"State your identification!"


	2. Lightning and Thieves

"You said you'd fixed these stupid things before we left!"

"Could you pass me a wrench?"

"Is it so much to ask? That's the second time I've had to walk the last stretch!"

"It wasn't as bad as last time. Could you hand me a wrench please?"

"Yeah, because walking through a desert shoving a bike is never that bad. These blisters are entirely your fault."

"I'm not rubbing them for you. Now hand me a-"

"Ugh, my shoes…!"

"Damn it Claudia, hand me a wrench!"

There was a dull thud against the grassy earth followed by an irate grunt. Pushing two broken down cycles was hard enough, but with all the whining and complaining going on from two thirds of the group they'd only managed to get them to the outskirts of town. It was a sunny afternoon so it wasn't a problem to be sat outside, enjoying the weather from the shade of the nearby trees and relaxing after their journey over the past few days. What didn't help was that the woman that remained, who was currently sitting in the grass nearby with their bags, was still complaining about the 'poor' conditions they had just travelled under.

Travelling from Flanoir to Luin was hard, whether you had a vehicle or not. First came the short trip across the snowfields to get to the port on the edge of the continent: on cycles it wasn't so bad. From the port onto the boat, and then the boat to Izoold took about a day, being only a simple curve around the rocks and mountains of the mainland. The weather grew warmer by the end as well, so it was possible to sit on the deck and watch the town draw closer. After a night spent in Izoold the journey to Luin began, across the Triet desert (stopping only briefly to refresh at the oasis), over the bridge and the checkpoint further south, and then across the plains and hills for the rest of the day until late evening. Easy.

Unless the method of travel was compromised. This was all achievable with a vehicle, even a low power one, in about three days. Without them… well, it could take about four to six, depending on the speed of the traveller.

And where the breakdown happened.

Attempting to loosen a nut on a bent bolt Sam eventually gave up and smacked the bike with the wrench, causing a thick clang to reverberate through it making his friend jump. Of the two sisters he'd been travelling with the younger of the pair, Claudia, had remained with him.

"There's sand everywhere!" he seethed, watching another lump of oily grit slither out from one of the usually vacant areas on the vehicle. "This is the last time I bring your sister to Luin…!"

Claudia scoffed as she laid back in the grass. "Of course it is: she' lives down here now."

Pulling himself out from underneath the bike he yanked off his gloves, pulling off the goggles that held back his ruffled navy hair before fixing a glare on his friend. "If these things are broken, you're paying for damages."

"What? I didn't do anything!" Claudia snapped as she shot up again, and pouted as Sam rose back to his feet with a sigh, brushing the grass from his jeans. He really should've kept the cycle clothes on to do the repairs… "Giving up?" she then asked, her tone a little more sympathetic than before when she saw his frustration.

"I can't do anything with it right now. I didn't have half the parts for it when we left, and what it does have is now full of sand," he grumbled as he sat down next to her instead.

Claudia narrowed her eyes at his comment, arms folded and resting against her knees. "'Didn't have half the parts'?"

"Yeah, these things should've never made it out of the garage. I'm surprised they didn't explode."

"_What_?"

He grinned at her worried exclamation, throwing the wrench back into the toolbox he had. "Joke."

Huffing at his sense of humour she crossed her legs instead, watching as he went to the other bike and knelt beside it to check its insides. "…Great, the fuel pump's busted."

"So they're _both _broken?" she huffed.

"No, you idiot: I can take parts from that one and put it in this one. At least we'll have one working bike…."

"You're just gonna leave that one here?"

"Tabitha can look after it, right? I mean, we did just bring her down here, so she can do that for me," he said, looking through the small toolbox again. "Wish I'd brought more with me though."

Chuckling softly Claudia laid back down in the grass again, her arms folded beneath her head as she closed her eyes. "Ah, you're a genius with what you've got! Don't get so miserable!"

"Maybe I could sell it for spare parts… There'd only be about three left, but whatever…"

There weren't that many scrap dealers around, and the few that were there only bought cheap. What they did pay out was meagre, and what they got they'd sell for three times as much, because the only people needing parts were the ones who couldn't afford to buy new vehicles.

After many trials and tribulations - and swearing - the ground was eventually strewn with loose parts, unnecessary wires and screws, and Sam was stood proudly next to the one mostly completed bike. Smeared with oil and stripped down to only his jeans and shirt he smiled, eventually lifting a leg over to sit on the seat and pushing the key into the ignition.

"You sure you want to be so exposed when you turn that thing on? If it explodes-"

"Just shut up and stay over there," he cut across, barely registering the fact that she'd gone to duck behind a nearby wall.

The engine shuddered into life with the turning of the key, coughing a little until a gentle amount of revving eased it into an eventual purr, and the smile on Sam's face turned smug. "Yes! I knew it would work…!"

"Are you dead yet?" Claudia called from behind the wall, peeking up only a little to investigate.

But Sam was already putting it in gear and accelerating gently forward, cackling triumphantly as he went around in a wide circle. "It's like it's brand new!"

Spotting the flash of red hair as Claudia poked her head out from behind the wall he turned and headed back towards her, a gentle squeeze of the brakes being all he needed to get the bike to slow obediently to a halt. "See, that's how amazing I am."

Climbing back over the wall Claudia gave Sam's arm a gentle nudge. "Whatever, you show off…" she chuckled, but quickly noticed how his attention was drawn away.

He was staring over towards the forest to the north, a bemused frown clouding his face. "Sam?" Claudia tried to get his attention, but he seemed transfixed. "Hey, what's wrong?"

He shrugged softly, head tilted curiously to one side. "…I dunno-"

A bright flash quickly cut him off and had Claudia leaping to her feet, an enormous bolt of lightning falling from the sky forcing them to cover their eyes. The ground rumbled as a crash of thunder echoed across the plains like a guttural roar, but as quickly as it had appeared it vanished.

Looking at each other in surprise they were both stunned, before Claudia managed to speak up in a shocked mumbled. "Was that a… sword?"

Same was clearly the opposite, eyes shining with intrigue. "That was incredible…!" he gasped, looking from the woods to her with a bright smile.

"Like, a sword made of lightning?" Claudia continued to puzzle, running a hand through her hair.

"Did you feel that? The air was just… alive with power!" Sam gushed, holding his hands in front of him and wiggling his fingers. "That was so strong!"

"What? What do you mean?"

"The mana… That was_ crazy_: no one uses magic that strong!" Sam exclaimed, before gesturing to Claudia to get on the bike behind him. "Let's go check it out!"

Claudia quickly refused, sitting back down on the wall with her arms firmly crossed. "No way! The last time we did that, I almost broke an arm and that wolf thing got away with your boots!"

But Sam was persistent, clasping his hands together instead and giving Claudia the most pleading look he'd ever mustered. "We won't get close: I just want to check it out!" he promised, sticking out his lower lip in a sad pout for added effect.

It worked its magic quickly enough as Claudia relented with a groan, her whole body slumping for a moment before she got up and swung a leg over the bike behind him. "Fine! But if there are _any_ soldiers around, we're leaving right away!"

* * *

It was hard to make any coherent sense of his surroundings anymore. In the past half hour the whole of his body had started going numb, his limbs like lead and barely keeping him up despite his effort to do so. He couldn't move his feet very much: no matter how hard he tried they just wouldn't go one in front of the other-wait, he'd fallen to his knees at some point. That's why they were sore…

With a groan he brought a hand to his head, which had started to ache. What was going on? It'd started a little after he'd escaped from the soldiers on the bridge: they were easy to take out, but they'd hit him with something as he left. It was a dart, as far as he could remember. Why would guards be using drugged darts?

It was becoming too much. If there'd been anything in his stomach he'd have thrown it back up by now, but that didn't stop the pain it put him through as he fell forward, supported only by his shaking arm. He hadn't felt agony like this for a long time.

"…Okay, now I swear we're lost."

"No, it's around here…!" Voices were quickly approaching from somewhere to his left along with the low rumble of a vehicle, but he still couldn't move beyond putting his other hand on the ground to keep himself up. Both arms were trembling visibly as his strength left him, the whole world spinning as he tried again to get to his feet, but he only succeeded to drop further than before. He couldn't even concentrate enough for a First Aid spell.

"…Wait, over there!" He heard once of the voices again, closer than before.

"What?" Concentrating was hard.

"I think… someone's trying to use magic?"

The engine sound stopped. There was a click, followed by footsteps heading closer and closer…

"Sam…!" gasped a female voice. They were still quite a distance away, and had probably spotted one of the men around him. They must've followed him from the bridge, knowing he was drugged.

There was a moment of silence, which he took to try and find his feet again. Wherever they were, they were numb and heavy.

"…Just a thief. Or he was: guy's dead now."

"Geez, how?" His hands were starting to feel fuzzy now as well. He tried running his fingertips through the earth, but despite what he could just about see before him he couldn't feel a thing.

"I dunno. It was probably that lightning-hey, here's another one!" Those footsteps were tentatively coming closer again, stopping just a few yards away. "…He's alive. Bit burnt though."

"Why are you helping him, Sam?"

"He's still alive! We have to do something…" The young man trailed off, and just as Kratos' body gave in completely to the fatigue he heard them approaching him instead. "Shit… Claude! Get the bike!"

"What-why?" Finally Kratos' arms gave out, and he finally slumped to the ground. He could just feel the shift in balance as he was rolled onto his back, but beyond that he couldn't see anything else as his eyelids slid shut.


	3. A New Form of Snap

He never liked being at someone's mercy as much as when he collapsed, especially if they were strangers. Especially if said contact could have been avoided, and even more so if the avoiding could've happened if he'd just been more careful. And usually he was: thousands of years of experience under his belt, he could evade almost all ambushes and attacks like they were nothing, leaving with only a few scratches if there weren't too many opponents. But that dart came when he couldn't avoid it: defending himself against three men at once did take priority over the smaller points in situations like those, and whoever shot the dart had been too well hidden for him to see them before they fired.

And now he was paying the price. He was at the mercy of whoever the people he'd heard before were, and no doubt they'd want to be reimbursed for their time and effort to help him. If they'd helped him at all, that is. For all he knew, he could still be lying in the forest, amongst whatever was left of the thieves he'd hit with Thunder Blade. That hadn't been a very good attack either: his mind was so hazy it was more like a basic bolt of lightning than anything.

Wherever he was, at least he was warm. There was a faint smell of damp earth, a gentle lapping of water reaching his ears through the silence. Probably in the inn at Luin… He had no idea how far he'd been from there, but it was probably closer than he'd been to Izoold, considering how he never made it over the river.

He still felt a little… fuzzy. The numbness hadn't gone completely, but at least he could move a little more by now. Struggling to open his eyes he was met with a softly flickering light and the occasional murmur of voices, and turned his head towards a grand fireplace as he sat up.

Sitting by the fire were two of the three people he'd seen the day before with the bikes in the forest; the boy and the younger woman, who had both changed out of the leather riding outfits. Sitting by the crackling flames they were both holding a deck of cards each, and carefully flipping them onto a pile growing between them until the boy slapped his hand down on top.

"Hey!" hissed the girl, batting his hand away.

"It's a four on the fourth card! It's a match!" the boy whispered back, pushing a few of the cards to one side to show the rest underneath.

"No way, I was on three! And there's an eight under that: you were supposed to skip a turn!"

"See, this is why we're supposed to say them out loud."

"Yeah, but I didn't wanna wake the guy…!"

A finger was pointed at him, and when both looked in his direction they jumped and almost fell back, the dark-haired boy almost shoving his elbow in the fire in the process. They stared at him for a moment or two in silence, looking as if he'd risen from the dead, so he took the time to look around the room.

He didn't recognise it as the inn he'd stopped in briefly the day before. The walls were painted a light colour to contrast with the dark carpet underfoot, and there was only one bed, lavishly wrapped in fine cotton sheets. On the bedside table there was a lamp and a small golden clock, as well as a glass of water and a plate of fruit, while a small selection of books were housed on a shelf underneath. The room was large enough to fit a couch and a low coffee table by the fire, where his cloak and sword were currently resting, and in the corner stood a large wooden wardrobe.

The boy was the first to stand, making his way slowly to the bedside table in the low light of the fire.

"Wow, didn't expect you to wake up so soon…!" he mumbled awkwardly, managing a small smile as he picked up the glass of water and offered it to Kratos.

He looked as if he were in his late teens or early twenties. His features were still rather young and round beneath long locks of navy hair, which hung untidily from the side and across his eyes, whilst the back was ruffled and unkempt. Tall and thin, he was dressed in a dark green shirt and grey jeans, with mismatched socks on his feet that were evident even in the shadows - stripes on one, and squares on the other. A small glint drew attention to his softly pointed ears, which were adorned with two rings and a stud on one side, and two studs on the other. His right hand was wrapped tightly in bandage, from halfway up his lower arm right down to his fingertips, with a small white mark just visible near the top.

"You were attacked by the Guard, right?" the boy asked, crossing his arms once the glass had left his hand.

Taking a sip Kratos eventually nodded. "Over by the bridge near Hima."

"Hima?" The woman spoke this time, getting up from where she was by the fire and walking cautiously towards the bed. Similarly to the boy she was dressed simply, wearing a thin leather jacket and a pair of shorts, her legs covered by striped tights. She appeared to be a little older, maybe her mid-twenties, and was far more wary of him as she kept her distance. Her hair was shoulder length and tousled, like she'd only just woken up.

Kratos noticed her inquisitive tone of voice. Maybe the hamlet was no more… Without the Tower of Salvation, there would be nothing to bring people up to the mountains, and the only building there was the inn. It made sense that it would be abandoned by now. So he took another gulp of water, before putting the glass down on the table again. "To the north," he corrected, wondering now just how many familiar places remained.

"Yeah, that's the one," said the boy, before running a hand through his hair with an uncomfortable chuckle. "Y'know, I'm surprised you're even awake. You had so much of that drug in your system… How are you feeling by now?"

"...I'm fine, thank you."

"Are you sure? All limbs intact?" asked the woman instead, though the hint of sarcasm in her voice earned her a stern glare from her friend. Eyes narrowed, Kratos looked from one to the other, which eventually made the boy sigh.

"Look, the reason I'm asking is… well, you really shouldn't be this awake right now. You took three darts: that's enough to drop a bull in two minutes, but you managed to get halfway back to Luin," he explained, holding a hand to his chin in fascination. "Your metabolism must be incredible…!"

The woman shook her head and ran a hand down her face with a sigh. "Sam! Focus…!"

Drawn back from his thoughts the one named Sam looked back at Kratos again. "What's your name?" he asked instead, groping for the chair nearby behind him and pulling it forward to sit down.

"Kratos." He was beginning to see where this was going.

"And where are you from?"

"Isn't it more appropriate to give your own names in return, instead of asking another question?" Kratos answered instead, and seemed to take them both by surprise.

Once again, the boy chuckled nervously. "Oh yeah, sorry. I'm Sam Perry," he said, before gesturing to his friend still stood by the fire. "And this is-"

"Claudia Morgans," she muttered. She seemed about as eager as Kratos about sharing personal information.

"And where am I?" Kratos asked instead.

"My in-laws' house, in Luin." Claudia really wasn't all that comfortable with the situation, speaking softly and curtly with her arms still firmly crossed.

But Sam seemed more than happy to continue the conversation, and leant ever more eagerly forward. "I still can't believe how far you made it! You even took out like three bandits! How is your magic so strong?"

"Sam, he's awake and he's fine. I'm going to bed and I think you should too." Turning away from the bed Claudia started across the room towards the door, stopping only to scoop up the cards they'd abandoned on the floor.

Disappointed, Sam had started pouting slightly in agitation, but eventually turned back to Kratos with an apologetic smile on his features. "Just give someone a yell if you need anything. Mine and Claudia's rooms are right next door," he said, glancing briefly towards the door as it swung shut behind Claudia. "Yeah, all I can say is try and get some more sleep. I don't know how much of that drug is still left in your system, but it should all be gone by tomorrow. Like I said, I didn't think you'd recover this quickly at all…!"

"Why do they use that drug?" Kratos eventually asked. Any knight would usually rely on skill or numbers to take down a foe: why resort to such a low trick?

Rubbing his neck awkwardly Sam frowned. "Well… to stop people from running. If they catch someone, they-"

They both turned towards the door when it was opened again, and Claudia stuck her head around the edge. "Sam! Let him sleep! He's probably still tired!"

Frowning softly, Sam stood up. "Yeah, yeah…" he grumbled, and headed towards the door without another word.

But Kratos drew his attention before he made it two steps. "Is there any way to protect yourself against it?"

Sam turned back with a thoughtful look, holding a hand to his chin again. "…Not that I know of, 'cept for 'stay away from the darts'. They only taught how to deal with the effects in school, which is enough, really."

"Sam!" Claudia huffed again. "You need to go to bed too! It's late!"

"I know, alright!" he snapped back towards the door, before glancing briefly back at Kratos and offering a quiet 'goodnight'.

It was hard to make any sense of this at all. Soldiers were going around and drugging people, just to keep them from running? Because of identification issues, just like he'd had earlier? But if it was such a problem wouldn't extra precautions be made to make sure everyone had identification, or were they trying to catch people? But why…?

As for Iselia, he'd have to fly again. There didn't seem to be any way he could get through the barricade without going through the same situation, and at the moment he'd prefer to not go through that again. Going on foot was purely for nostalgic reasons, and if he could avoid it that would be for the better. His first stop would probably be Triet, out in the desert, but the landscape had changed drastically since he'd left all that time ago. The altar was by the hidden village and Sybak, nestled in the surrounding mountains along with the new World Tree, while the old Holy Ground of Sylvarant was empty save for the chasm the Tower was once perched over. Altamira was in a peninsula connecting two of the continents together, and Latheon Gorge was a few hundred miles from Luin and Asgard. It had thrown him slightly to see the landscape he used to know become twisted into such odd shapes, and without a map it'd take him a lot longer to figure out where his destination was and how he would get there.

He needed a map more than anything else at the moment, to get his bearing and save time as he travelled: flying blindly in a vague direction would only agitate him. But to get a map he needed money, and the only way he could get any without difficulty would be to fight the monsters. But if they weren't attacking, the reward system was probably out of use. If he only had a chance to look at one it would make things easier on him. He could work out a route, and see which other towns had grown or vanished…

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed he finished off the glass of water and took a few of the grapes - there was a funny taste to them, a little blander than he could remember. Or was that his sense of taste after three hundred years of very little nourishment? Either way, he ate them, still feeling drained after his run-in with that dart. How far would he be able to walk right now? He didn't want to be here in the morning despite the hospitality the boy named Sam was showing. His pointed ears and navy hair were obvious signs of elven ancestry, possibly half-elven considering the tone of his skin, but it was hard to tell in dim lighting

The greater test was seeing if he could stand up. Once he was on his feet, he'd know how much that drug was still affecting him: if his hands were numb he would be able to deal with it, but without his feet he wouldn't be able to walk. He would have to wait until morning, which wasn't something he was particularly looking forward to. There was only one way to find out, and that was to get up.

* * *

"Claudia?" Sam never realised how cold it was out in the corridor at night. He was usually fully dressed so he never needed to think about it, to be honest. Dressed in a pair of shorts and a spare shirt, Sam knocked once again on the girl's door, one arm wrapped around his middle to keep warm whilst he rubbed his tired eyes with his free hand. His toes were sticking over the edge of the carpet that ran down the centre of the hall floor, and touching them to the wood between it and the door just made him shiver even more. "Claudia…!"

The handle turned suddenly, and had he been more awake he would've jumped when it was pulled open, but when Claudia's dishevelled figure came into view he frowned guiltily, staring down at his toes. "Are you okay? What's happened…?" she grumbled, running a hand over her face as she fought back a yawn.

"I…" he mumbled, shifting uncomfortably from one foot to another. She was going to yell at him for waking her up in the middle of the night… "…I heard something…"

When she stared at him in disbelief he hung his head, but wasn't met with the irritation he was expecting. She sighed softly instead, and stepped to one side. "C'mon; it's, like, the middle of the night."

"I-I know, I'm sorry," he quickly apologised as he rushed inside, and quickly buried himself deep beneath the blankets of Claudia's plush bed.

"You need to start picking better times to bring stuff like this up…"

* * *

A long and painful creak emanated from the door when he pushed it open slowly, which Kratos cursed several times over as he heard conversation from further up the hall. It seemed to be the two kids from earlier… He waited until they fell silent, the distant door clicking shut, and let his own door swing into its neutral position as he went down the opposite direction.

There was a certain uneasiness to the stairs as he descended to the ground floor, even with his hand clasped firmly to the banister. It felt a little fuzzy under his fingertips like the day before, but he ignored it for now: he'd be alright in a little, once he was on level ground.

"Who's there?" Three steps from the carpet of the main hall there was a small voice somewhere around the corner, along with the soft light of a stationary lamp and a shadow that passed in front of it. It came to the arch of the next room, and a young woman in a dark blue dress and a white apron walked into sight with a concerned expression. Upon spotting him she remained in the arch. "Is there something you need, sir?"

Passing the last few steps he looked around the hall, pulling the cloak around his shoulders again and fastening it at the front. Of course, there was one thing he needed. "Do you have a map?"

* * *

An area down his back felt cold… He shuddered and curled up tighter, but when that didn't help he reached blindly behind him to try and find any morsel of duvet he could. At some point during the night either it or Sam had migrated to one side of the bed without the other, and now the only part of him covered was his lower half, leaving the rest of him to shiver against the cold of the room. Having curled around a pillow his front was fine, but he'd suddenly started noticing how exposed his spine was and that made the rest of him cold, especially without a blanket.

When he couldn't find it he eventually rolled onto his back, and squinted tiredly across the empty bed. The curtains were still shut and let only a sliver of early morning light into the room, the twitter of tiny birds coming from somewhere outside.

"…Mmh… Claude?" he mumbled groggily, looking the other way towards the sofa. Her sword and boots were still there, but nothing else. She must've gone to breakfast already…

Sitting up he stretched out his stiff limbs, joints clicking after sleeping in a ball for most of the night, before shivering again and bringing his arms back around himself. He'd dropped his shirt onto the floor the night before when he realised he couldn't sleep in it, but it wasn't there any more… Dang, he liked that shirt too: if it wasn't in this room, it was probably lost somewhere in the Hellwes family's immense amount of laundry, and he wouldn't get it back until his next visit. Grabbing the next best thing, Claudia's jacket from the couch, he got up and went to go and find her.

The kitchen was warm and humid, thick with the scent of baking bread and sizzling bacon, which he was already smiling about as he dropped unceremoniously into a seat. Claudia was already sat at the table, dressed and looking ready to leave (except for her boots and weapon) in her shorts, striped tights, and shirt, whilst her sister Tabitha was sitting across the way from her. The older sibling was still dressed in her night dress, wrapped up in a cardigan and slippers, with her long blonde hair tied in two plaits that hung back behind her shoulders. Both already had a plate of bacon, eggs, mushrooms and toast before them.

Claudia gave him a cursory glance as he joined them, but looked back again soon enough and crossed her arms when she realised what he was wearing. "Aren't your own clothes good enough for you anymore?"

Pulling forward the plate of toast Sam started munching on a slice, leaning heavily against the table. "Shirt gone…" It was too early in the morning for coherent speech until he'd had breakfast. Claudia sighed softly at this reply, but said nothing more.

Another plate was put in front of him soon enough, one with bacon, eggs and sausages, and with quiet 'thank you' he picked up a knife and fork and tucked in. "What about that guy upstairs? Does he want food?" he asked after a few mouthfuls.

"Already gone." Claudia replied, her tone nonchalant as she read the back page of the newspaper in Tabitha's hands.

Halfway to his mouth Sam's fork stopped, and he looked incredulously at Claudia. "Wait-what?"

"Yeah, last night. According to the night staff, anyway," said Tabitha, shaking her head softly. "Asked for a map, then took off."

Groaning softly Sam ran his hands through his hair. "_What_? I don't believe…!" he huffed, stumbling through a few more exclamations before finally looking at Claudia. "You're kidding, right?"

"Nope," Claudia replied simply, piling the last few morsels on her plate onto her fork before shoving it into her mouth. "H'rry up. We're l'vin' soon."

Sam gave her a confused look, a piece of bacon hanging from his own mouth. "Huh?"

She rolled her eyes and swallowed. "Hurry up. We're leaving soon."


	4. Confusing Weapons

An oasis has always had importance in the lives of people travelling through a desert. Goods were acquired from towns on both sides, and without a point halfway between them the trade dwindled the moment it met the wide wasteland between them. Traversing the treacherous dunes was dangerous: many an inexperienced explorer had lost his life out in the sand, straying too far in the wrong direction on his way to the oasis in the middle. It was the only point of survival for humans, and monsters alike, who lived out in such a formidable place.

Travelling on foot was always done better at night, when the air was cooler and the moon watched over the land, particularly on cloudless evenings. That great white pearl would reflect on the surface of the water and be a guiding beacon for any weary wanderer, if they were coming from a northerly direction. Any unwitting daytime walkers were usually scorched within hours.

Any discernible path was often wiped clean after a sandstorm, which always tore viciously across Triet and wore away at the old wall that did its best to protect its inhabitants. Having lived there for so long they knew how to survive and deal with these problems, taking cover inside their homes until it passed by, and clearing up whatever damage that would occur. They already knew, however, it was best to leave as little as possible outside.

The oasis was as blue as it had ever been, a little bigger if anything, and as always it was guarded by a small child wielding a branch. There was always someone who told their child the importance of the precious little water they had in the desert, and that child would take it upon their self to 'keep it safe', from squanderers and polluters alike.

But as Kratos walked through Triet it wasn't hard for him to spot a second oasis, about a hundred yards from the first and surrounded by a dozen small houses, and a building bearing the title 'The Oasis'. The old inn 'Mirage' was still standing and seemed to be currently housing a school, a small group of young children playing outside, but all in all the town seemed impoverished. Compared to the new inn, it all looked dilapidated.

He was greeted as he entered town, which was just as lively as always despite the rundown buildings: if anything, there were a lot more people than before. As it was in Luin, what buildings that were there had grown - or at least been built bigger than before. The passing of time had developed civilisation's building skills a great deal. The armour and weaponry shops were still open and thriving, though many of the browsers looked out of place in a desert. They were dressed very casually, pale skin burnt under such extreme sunlight, and looking very warm and uncomfortable. He watched as some of them wandered wearily back to 'The Oasis', dizzy with sunstroke and most likely parched, and shook his head slowly as he realised they were most likely tourists visiting the old ruins to the west-no, to the south. It was strange how much the re-joining of the worlds had changed everything.

Taking a seat at a table near the original oasis he pulled out the map, placing it on the table and pinning the corners down with a selection of rocks from the ground. The young maid in Luin had been kind enough to let him take a bag with a few bare essentials: food, water, and the map. A book and a selection of pens had been tucked in the front pocket, but he thought nothing of it and left them there for the time being.

The joining of the two worlds had made such severe changes to the landscape. The continent where Meltokio and the temples of Earth and Lightning were based had moved south of Sybak and Gaoracchia, and Triet and Iselia were north of Luin, Asgard and Palmacosta. Heimdall and Altamira were amongst the peninsulas between the two main halves of the world, along the centre line below Flanoir. Many small towns had made their way into the world as well: a little port town named Colwyn on the west coast of Triet, beyond the mountains; Eiro, another small port town near Flanoir; and a third one called Arborwerd near Ozette. He could only assume that all these ports were flourishing from advancing ocean travel: soon enough, they'd be taking to the air themselves. Not that Yuan would need help.

The Renegade base wasn't on the map, but it wasn't like it would be in the first place. Would they still be needed in this world? With no threat like the Desians around there didn't seem to be a need for them, since Yuan first began them in an attempt to stop the Chosen and stop Mithos. Was the blue haired half elf even around by now? Was Kratos the only one left?

A room at the inn still cost very little, the only problem being that no matter how cheap it was he didn't have the gald for it right now. The only things he could sell were the cloak around his shoulders and what remained in his bag, and he doubted that bread, cheese, ham and cake would get him very far. There were also the few accessories he still had: an old Fairy Ring and a talisman of some kind, but these things he'd rather keep than give away. They still had their uses, and would probably fetch more as antiques than equipment.

From the main entrance of the town came the low, shuddering purr of a vehicle, familiar to his ears after he'd heard it the day before passing out. It wasn't possible: the likelihood of the same bike being in Triet was incredibly low, unless they were travelling somewhere north of here… This was one of the most ridiculous coincidences he'd ever had the misfortune to experience recently.

Having sat back at the bench by the oasis for the past hour or so he eventually gathered his possessions together, and made his way towards the centre of town to investigate the latest arrivals. It couldn't possibly be those two kids: why would they be travelling to Triet in the first place? The only places to go beyond the desert were Iselia, nestled in the corner of the continent, and Izoold up the top…

The children from earlier that afternoon were now being escorted home by their parents, fascinated by the marred and mismatched cycle that had just pulled in through the main entrance in the wall. Sat on top were the two he'd met the night before, looking hot and bothered and ready to drop, with a bag each strapped to the back of the vehicle. Switching the engine off they sluggishly clambered off, and as the boy heaved it towards the shade of some kind of cycle shed in front of the inn the girl instantly unzipped her jacket and pulled it off. "Damn it… I _hate_ Triet…!"

Kratos watched as they walked, with their head hung, towards the inn with their possessions in hand. Sam had followed Claudia's lead and peeled off his jacket the first chance he had, and let it drag on the ground behind him as they headed down the steps and disappeared inside. Both had been too distracted by the heat to see him standing in the shade of the wall barely two yards from them: travelling in heavy leather jackets would be hell in the desert, but it was necessary to keep the sand from buffing against the skin and tearing it apart.

If he had nothing else to do in Triet, he would leave soon. He hadn't realised just how long he'd been at the oasis until those two turned up. It was time to move on to Iselia.

* * *

Both pairs of leather jackets and trousers were abandoned in a heap at the foot of one of the two beds, and both Sam and Claudia had collapsed on the other bed, exhausted from the heat. Staring at the ceiling, neither could move from the mattress for the time being.

"This is the last time I come here, I swear to whatever higher being is watching right now…!" grumbled Claudia, wiping her forehead and grimacing at the sweat that glistened on her arm.

"Agreed…!" mumbled Sam, pushing his goggles a little higher into his hair to keep it from his eyes. "Geez…!"

From out on the square came a scream; a piercing, fear-fuelled scream. It quickly spawned others in its wake, until the whole town seemed to be in an uproar and sounded as if they were running from the main gate. The heavy footfalls of a large group walking in time drew closer, accompanied by the constant clanking and scratching of rubbing armour. Casting each other a worried glance Sam and Claudia were soon at the window, and watched as about thirty guards in glistening armour stormed through the opening in the wall.

* * *

A man in silver armour lined with gold was leading the way, and before any more of the civilians could escape he'd managed to surround the square and herd them all back towards him. Removing his helmet he flashed the crowd a sinister smirk, running a hand through his short blonde hair. "People of Triet: we received word that a group of escapees has taken refuge in your town. Please remain here as we perform a search of the buildings," he announced, before sending off several pairs of soldiers to search the buildings.

Kept in place by a formidable ring of soldiers thepeople of Triet could only watch as their homes were broken in to and ransacked, any person inside thrown out to join the others with little to no care. Children were sobbing helplessly into their parent's embrace, and families huddled together in fear as they were watched relentlessly. The mid-afternoon was still beating down on them, and the longer they were stood there the harder it was to bear. Guests from 'The Mirage' were easy to spot, a few already collapsing from heat stroke and shaded only by those standing around them, and offered water by some of the locals who had it to spare.

Barely ten minutes had passed before there was a yell from one of the small houses behind the inn. "Three found: five remaining!" yelled a soldier, before three of the guards returned, escorting three men already bound in chains to the man in gold and silver. They were forced to their knees before the crowd.

The leader, most likely a captain of some kind, sneered in disgust at the dishevelled people cowering in front of him. "You should really consider co-operating! The longer it takes for us to locate these criminals, the more time you spend out here in the sun-"

"These people are innocent! You're the criminals around here!" a young man dared to yell from amongst the crowd, rallying a few cries in agreement from his companions. The Captain rolled his eyes and walked towards the man with an eyebrow raised in question.

"Oh, you know these people do you?" he asked in faux curiosity, towering over the other man without much trouble. "Are you willing to defend their innocence?"

The entire crowd before him had started cowering, shying away and almost leaving the brave young man to stand alone at the front, though when a hand reached forward to try and pull him back the Captain lifted his own to stop them. "No, I think this boy needs to learn a thing or two about what the Eques uphold."

The sound of a scuffle could be heard from the next street over, before a woman was dragged out amongst the three men by another two soldiers. "Four found: one remaining!"

The young man was dragged forward from the safety of the circle by the Captain, and as the next four escapees were brought forward the blonde knight ordered them all to stand. He faced the crowd with his arm outstretched towards the captives behind him. "Many of these men and women are criminals! They are brought to us because leaving them to roam would be dangerous: no civilian would be safe!" The young man was trembling slightly, his eyes fixed to the floor in fear as he was held firmly by the shoulder, until a handful of his hair was grabbed and he was forced to look into the sneering face of the Captain. "Their identification is stripped. It's much easier to spot a criminal when they lack the proper documents."

With a sharp shove the Captain moved them down the line, though all the 'criminals' looked more lost and frightened than dangerous.

"Some are guilty of fraud, or thievery. Others, for assault, abuse, or murder. Tell me: are we really all that evil for keeping sadistic villains like these locked up away from hard working civilians, like yourself?" asked the Captain, still holding the young man by the hair and forcing him to look down at each individual.

The inn was soon emptied, all the inhabitants inside forced to join the circle. The young man held at the front was released, and he scurried back into the crowd for safety.

The Captain quickly lost interest, and turned his attention to his second-in-command with a sigh. "Any sign of the last?" he asked, looking around the entrances that his soldiers had covered. One by one they returned to the square, announcing the end of their search with a shout of 'Clear!' and standing guard at each street entrance.

"Damn, must've headed another way…" The Captain muttered irritably, before turning to a soldier standing beside him. "Send word to the camp near Izoold: there might be an escapee heading in their direction."

"Yes Captain!" the solider saluted, before charging off with another soldier to their vehicles stationed just outside the walls.

The soldiers started to withdraw, chaining their captives together and marching them out of the square. Once the guards had backed away from the circle the people inside started to spread a little more, until a child ran from amongst them crying for his mother. Running after the escapees he seemed completely unaware of the guards falling into formation around the gate, or of the Captain drawing a weapon and quickly taking aim.

A gasp rippled through the crowd as a shot echoed through the air, and the child stopped dead in his tracks. A few yards away, the silver and gold arm the Captain had drawn clattered to the ground, the man himself grasping his hand in pain as his soldiers hastily rallied around him. Silence fell across the crowd, parting slightly around a navy haired young man still holding his own firearm at the ready, trained on the Captain along with his fierce expression.

"Bring forward the suicidal_ idiot_ that dared to attack me," seethed the Captain, his face red with rage. The crowd parted further, and two of the soldiers marched forward and took hold of Sam by the arms, forcing him to walk forward. Still cradling his wounded hand, a few chips of his gauntlet littering the floor around him, the Captain glared at Sam. "An attempt at chivalry, elf?"

"Half elf, actually. And yes," Sam snapped back, and the Captain smirked.

"Risking your neck for a lowly runt?"

Same scowled, tensing against the soldiers holding him back. "Better than seeing him killed. It was an act of defence."

"Attacking an officer is a crime in itself," said the Captain, eyeing up the crowd gathered behind him. The young child had returned to his guardian, though the crowd was starting to gather again with a much braver and angrier face. He quickly reconsidered, and folded his arms behind his back. "…But the wound is minimal. I guess I can't arrest you."

For a moment Sam looked relieved, but instead of being released he was forced to his knees, his right arm held out by one of the guards. He struggled, but was kept firmly in place as the Captain drew his other firearm. "That doesn't mean you shouldn't be punished. An eye for an eye, as they say."

Another pair of knights quickly caught Claudia, who had run forward with a hand on her sword. "Sam!" she yelled desperately, struggling with all her might to get free.

"Anyone who interferes will receive the same treatment!" one of the guards scolded her, drawing the Captain's attention to herself.

"Stand down, woman. Or I'll do more than graze him."

"Leave him alone!" she barked. But her yell was ignored, and she watched as the Captain took aim with a look of sadistic glee in his eyes.

"Remove his glove," he ordered, smirking as Sam's struggles increased, but quirked an eyebrow in curiosity when he saw the bandage wrapped around his arm. "…And the bandage."

The knot was cut, and with less care than he would've liked Sam watched helplessly as they unwrapped the cloth around his lower arm. A white mark was soon revealed.

"A healer, are you?" the Captain jeered, much too happy to see the fear crawling into Sam's features. "Another reason for punishment: hiding your registration is against the law."

"I wasn't-" Sam tried to argue, but was interrupted by the guards as they gasped and stepped back. His hand had been revealed, which he quickly tried to hide now that he'd been released. Before he could back away the Captain caught his arm and yanked him sharply forward, looking closely at his skin as the last of the bandage fell away from his palm.

His flesh was marred; sallow and grey like a decomposing corpse, it looked as if only his skin covered the bones. It was grey to his wrist, only returning to normal beyond the joint where his veins faded from deathly black to the healthier blue they were supposed to be. His fingers had been wrapped separately, leaving them safely covered for the time being.

The Captain was awestruck, staring at his dead hand in fascination. "…You have the Decay? Now this is _very_ serious…!"

Eyes wide, Sam stared at him in dread. "The _what_?"

But the Captain was already addressing his second-in-command, speaking animatedly with the same malicious glee returning to his eyes. "Chain him up and put him with the rest. He's to be taken to Sybak as soon as possible."

"No!" came Claudia's distressed yell, struggling even harder than before to free herself and rush to help her friend. Sam was hoisted back to his feet, and watched as once again the guards approached him, handcuffs at the ready.

It was impossible to break loose, no matter how hard she pulled to release her arms, and all she could do was watch helplessly as Sam stood defenceless against the Eques. Even if she did break out, her interference would only make it worse on them both. She doubted she'd be able to take more than two of the knights by herself before being overpowered…

There was a ring of metal somewhere next to her, and soon enough one of the guards backed away as a long white blade was held to his neck. At the other end, holding it at arm's length with ease, was Kratos. "Stand down, and release the girl."

Her other arm was quickly freed, but Claudia was still in awe at how easily he held the great blade up without difficulty. Lowering it to his side he quickly checked her over, before looking towards Sam with a certain determination in his stoic expression, levelling almost on disgust at the Captain's behaviour. Not that Claudia blamed him at all: she'd never seen such a petty human being. Drawing her own weapon, she was about to ask the man at her side if he was going to help her, but at the sound of her blade being pulled he started walking towards the soldiers gathered around Sam and the Captain.

It wasn't long before they were noticed, the young half elf already cuffed and guarded as the Captain stepped forward. "What do you think you're doing?" he spat, putting away his firearm and drawing a sword instead.

Claudia steeled her nerves and scowled, before pointing her sword at the Captain. "Saving my idiot friend!" she barked, earning herself an agitated 'hey!' from Sam. "Don't complain: at least I'm helping."

The Captain started chuckling, making her flinch softly. "What makes you think the two of you can take on my entire guard? You're outnumbered," he said, gesturing to the men standing around him.

Kratos was unruffled by his remarks, checking his gauntlets were properly fixed to his arms as he stepped up next to Claudia. "You need soldiers to escort your prisoners back across the desert. I doubt you'd do so well with only one or two left," he retorted, a steadfast figure unflinching next to the clearly more nervous Claudia. Fixed with a glare from the Captain Kratos was unfazed, though the way Claudia stood ready next to him implied that she at least trusted him enough to cover her in a fight.

The odds were highly stacked against them but Kratos showed no concern, which only seemed to anger the Captain more and more. He bared his teeth in an angry snarl, resting his hand on the butt of his firearm. "I doubt you'll keep that cocky attitude for very long! I'll have all three of you dragged off to Sybak!"

Each knight around him drew their weapon, the harsh metallic ring itching at their ears until Kratos and Claudia were stood in a semi-circle of glistening swords and spears. As Kratos had said, roughly ten had stayed away along with the Captain, keeping an eye on the captives but still waiting with their weapons drawn. Claudia glanced around them in worry, but still Kratos was unwavering and watching the Captain through the barricade he'd set up between them.

"Keep them alive if you can: anyone who disobeys the Eques is breaking the law: adding three prisoners over the loss of one should keep everyone happy," the Captain ordered, before giving the signal to attack.

They started advancing as a pack, keeping tight together to keep the two of them from picking out any weaknesses, with their shields up and their weapons outstretched. Looking wildly from one to another Claudia was already beginning to panic, and jumped when she heard a clang beside her as two of the soldiers were thrown back. Kratos picked up one of the shields they'd dropped and pulled it onto his arm, before turning to apprehend another soldier who charged forward. Noticing how close the few before her were getting Claudia readied her weapon again, taking a shaky breath before daring to move forward.

Kratos made quick work of each soldier that tried to attack. Their formation and patterns reminded him a little of Desians: great numbers of poorly-trained soldiers, used mainly for grunt work or cannon fodder. They were quickly turning into the latter here, despite the crowd of civilians around them preventing any larger magical attacks at the moment. Along side him Claudia seemed to be keeping up her own, and his concern turned more to the Captain standing at the entrance to the village.

He seemed ready to leave as his soldiers started to dwindle, nodding to the nearest two to grab Sam and head out. Kratos caught Claudia's attention and gestured towards them, before taking down another soldier. "If you want to save him, go and stop them," he ordered, defending her from another slice and facing off against the last handful of soldiers. She uttered a shaky acknowledgement and stumbled out of the fight.

The Captain certainly looked amused as she approached, standing between her and Sam with a nasty grin. "Having thoughts of grandeur, are we?" he teased, holding up his sword as she shakily held up her own.

The soldiers before had been stronger than she'd anticipated, and her bravery was quickly fading as she got a good look at the Captain's armour. She had no chance against him by herself, but Sam was relying on her... Clenching her jaw she tightened her grip on her weapon, staring him down. "I won't let you take him!"

With a flick of her wrist her blade extended, several shards of the metal attached to a thi and sturdy chain. Shaking it out at her side to its full length she then swung it up over her head, bringing it down as hard as she could towards the Captain. His shock at the sudden change in length was obvious as he stumbled back a step and brought up his sword to defend, a deep scratch being carved into the plate on his forearm with a shrill ring. Stunned that she'd managed to land a hit Claudia stared in a brief daze, though when he flashed her an angry snarl she quickly pulled back for another attack.

Kratos was only vaguely aware of what was happening behind him when the soldier to his left had their helmet snatched from their head, and turned to see Claudia managing to keep the Captain and his remaining soldiers engaged. There were only four spare soldiers left now, the rest having come forward to try and subdue Kratos, though it didn't take long to clear them out of the way as well.

Claudia, on the other hand, was quickly beginning to struggle. Though she'd managed one or two hits against his armour she'd now lost the element of surprise, and though he couldn't do much against her weapon there wasn't much she could to against him either. Eventually the whip caught around his sword, but her length was lacking against his: instead of pulling it from his grasp like she'd hoped, he simply started winding it around his arm, ignoring the damage it was doing to his once-pristine armour.

With a helpless whine she pulled, but it didn't help in the slightest as the Captain pulled her closer to him and his remaining soldiers. She was about to let go, and yelped when there was a hand around her own, which held on tightly and pushed her down. The whip went slack, and at that moment Kratos pulled her hand back sharply, sharply yanking the the Captains arm and forcing him to drop the sword. He yelled out in pain, his shoulder clearly pulled out of position and hanging limply at his side, encouraging his remaining soldiers to rally around him.

He turned to his captives, about to give the order to move out when one of his guards was elbowed in the nose by Sam during the distraction. The other soldier lunged after him but wasn't fast enough to grab hold, and Sam took off at a run with his hands still bound towards the two still fighting.

"Stop the half elf!" bellowed the Captain, drawing his firearm with his good arm and doing his best to take aim. But Sam had already ducked behind Claudia and Kratos, rummaging through his pockets and holding it out to the two of them.

"Where's the cycle?" asked Claudia, quickly retracting her blade with another snap of her wrist as Kratos managed to hold back the last four soldiers. She managed to break apart the cuffs with her sword before Sam started towards the shelter by the inn, and Claudia looked back at Kratos. "Are you coming with us?"

Pulling off the shield he threw it at the closest knight, and sheathed his weapon before nodding at Claudia and running after Sam. The engine had already roared to life and was coming through the door as they approached: Claudia jumped on behind him, with Kratos back to back with her as he sat on the luggage platform. His foot against the rear wheel guard and lights was his only means of supporting himself, especially when the cycle accelerated sharply and tore down the road towards the oasis, weaving between people, fences and buildings until they were clear of the wall on the other side.


	5. Snow VS Sand

About five miles from Triet, the cycle lurched violently forward, and cut out.

"What the-" Rolling forward about twenty feet, it didn't take long for the sand to bring it to a complete halt, and with both feet on the ground Sam stared stupidly at the dials in front of him. With an grunt Claudia sat up, releasing her friend and running her gloved hands over her face as she muttered incoherently under her breath. Kratos climbed off the back, which Sam and Claudia did soon afterwards.

"Not again…" Claudia seethed, still wiping sand from her skin as Sam knelt by the cycle to check its innards.

"Look, it's not a desert cycle: it's a snow cycle. I already went through this with you!" he snapped back, pulling a panel away and grimacing at the sight underneath.

"So why did you bring this one and not-"

"Because there're no desert cycles at home! Again, I already explained this!" Digging his fingers into some of the gaps between the pipes he groaned, eventually banging a fist against the side of the fuel tank. "Damn it, everything's back at the inn!"

Only a few miles in front of them were the tell-tale rocks bordering the plains leading to Iselia. They, along with the mountains on either side, were almost lost in a wavering heat devil, making them blend in with the pale blue of the sky along the horizon. It would take an hour or two to walk, at least. Izoold was further, but that wasn't Kratos' destination.

"Stop poking around in there!" He looked back at the two by the bike when Claudia scolded Sam, who had taken off one of his gloves to start fiddling with some of the nuts and bolts in the bowels of the machine.

"What are you: my mother? I know what I'm do-ow!" Sam argued, but quickly withdrew his hand with a yelp. Claudia ran a hand over her face in dismay, shaking it softly with a sigh before kneeling next to him. He was about to stick the finger in his mouth but at seeing the oil, grease and sand on it, he quickly stopped himself.

A drop of blood quickly gathered on the surface of his skin however and slithered down his finger, bright red against the murky brown and black that had come from the bike. Reaching into a small box on the side of the vehicle, he found a white cloth and a small roll of bandage, and gave the roll to Claudia as he wiped his finger.

"You're a magic user: why not heal it?" asked Kratos, curious to see him going to all the effort.

"Because when I do…" Sam took the cloth in his teeth, before tearing a short length of bandage off the roll and wrapping it around his minor injury. "…It h'rts my h'nd."

Bending down beside them Kratos took Sam's hand before he could tie it, letting the small piece of cloth unravel again before covering his finger with his hand. "No, wait-" Sam started, before flinching when he saw the pale green light of First Aid against his skin. When Kratos took his hand back Sam stared in surprise, and held both hands out in front of him in a stupor. "W-what?"

"What's wrong?" asked Kratos, failing to see where the confusion lay.

"It… normally burns when I do that…!" Sam mumbled in response, pulling off his glove and checking his right hand: he hadn't had a chance to re-wrap the bandage, so the only parts still covered with bandages were his fingers and thumb.

"What causes it? That guard seemed very interested," asked Kratos, looking at his greying hand as well.

"Can we not talk about this here? I think I'm melting…" Claudia cut in before Sam could reply, standing up with a groan and running her hands through her hair.

Following suit and getting to his feet, Kratos eyed up the distant rocks again. "…Which way were you headed?"

"Izoold. We're supposed to be heading back to Flanoir on the boat tomorrow," Sam explained, still marvelling at where he'd hurt himself, and how the injury wasn't there anymore.

Quiet for a moment in consideration, Kratos eventually shook his head and looked towards the rocks again. "I'm afraid I'm heading for Iselia-"

"W-wait!" Claudia exclaimed, stepping in front of him to get his attention. She glanced at Sam, a look of pleading in her eyes as she looked up at Kratos. "…There's going to be guards on the Ossa Trail, and that armour guy said he was sending a message there. We can't go by ourselves!"

"What do you think I can do about it?" came his reply, looking from one to another.

"Well, you knew how to deal with those guys back in town," said Sam, gesturing to Triet behind them with a jab of his thumb. "Could you help us get to Izoold? Unless they shut it down in the past few days, I'm pretty sure there's still a soldier outpost at the bottom of the mountain pass."

Could he risk getting so close to the Eques guards again? His past two meetings hadn't been the smoothest, so avoiding them was definitely a better idea than trying to sneak past them. The Ossa Trail was hardly known for its hiding places either, except for the mines underneath, and even then they had probably caved in by now. It had been three hundred years. "I-" he started, only to be instantly cut across.

"We can pay you!" Sam quickly cut across him, plunging his hand into his pocket and digging out a leather wallet. Doing the same with her small satchel Claudia had a small beaded purse in hand, and with their heads together they started rooting through both and counting out notes and coins, muttering to each other under their breath. When they eventually turned back to Kratos, they had arranged a small pile together in their hands.

"A thousand gald now, and another thousand when we get there. Deal?" Sam proposed, holding out a small fistful of notes to him. He looked uncertain, crossing his arms and already debating a good, solid 'no', but he quickly brought all the gald together and held it up in front of him. "Two thousand, and… we'll think of something else when we get to Izoold!"

"Sam! That's everything we have right now...!" Claudia chided him, but he was steadfast.

"We don't have much of a choice," he said to her, casting a concerned look her way over his shoulder. "The bike's dead, all our stuff is back in Triet, and we attacked a bunch of soldiers. _Eques_ soldiers, Claude: they're not going to let that one lie."

She looked uncomfortable at the suggestion, but didn't argue any more. Sam turned his full attention back to Kratos, and held the money up to him again. "Please. If they come after us, Claudia can't fight them back by herself. We just need to get to Izoold: once we get on the boat, we should be fine."

Windswept and covered in sand, they looked helpless and desperate. Kratos shook his head and sighed softly: he could already tell it wouldn't be that simple. "Fine," he eventually said, and both relaxed visibly. "But you'd best be careful. That soldier seemed intent on going to Sybak."

Both nodded, and once again Sam held the money out to him. "We will. We'll do anything you say."

"Then put your gald away. You'll need it more than I would." He raised his hand to turn Sam's offer away, much to their confusion.

"No, we... You can't! We have to give you something!" Sam exclaimed in disbelief, nearly dropping some of the coins as his hands drooped.

But Kratos shook his head again. "I don't need gald. What I want more is information."

Sam and Claudia cast each other an awkward glance, before looking back at Kratos and shrugging. "Uh, we don't really know all that much. About anything," said Sam.

"Well, except healing and cycle repair, but that's more him," Claudia added on with a nod to her friend, who mumbled 'oh yeah' like the thought had never occurred to him.

Both looked overheated in the baking sun, which was the more pressing concern at the moment. Kratos turned his gaze further north: if the direction they were facing lead to Iselia, then north was probably the right way… It would take an hour or two to walk, which was a bad idea at this time of the day, but they didn't have much of a choice. And the bike would be a problem: if they were recognised, there was no point pushing a dead bike any further. They would probably be known by the cycle alone, so leaving it behind was the better option. "If we're going to Izoold, we should leave when it gets dark. It'll take a few hours-"

"That's something I was going to ask!" Cut across mid-sentence Kratos turned to Sam again, brow raised in question and eyes narrowed slightly in agitation from being cut across in the first place. "How did you get to Triet so fast? We came along the road on a cycle, and it still took us almost three hours."

"I know a few routes around here that others don't. They must've been shorter than the road you took," he explained, though that was far from the truth. Flying across the water took much less time than any route walking, he just didn't anticipate anyone from Luin being around the desert to recognise him. Still, it was in the past, and as both youngsters nodded he was relieved to see that he didn't need to explain more than that, his lies easily swallowed. "As I was saying, we'll need to make shade until it cools. We'll set off in two hours."

"What are we supposed to do 'till then? We're stuck in the middle of the desert with a broken bike, no food or water, and maybe some guards chasing after us. Shouldn't we go hide somewhere?" asked Claudia, looking around the immediate area with a huff. There was nothing but sand and heat to be seen for miles.

But Kratos shook his head. "The worst you can do when you're in the desert is walk during the daytime. Our best option is to wait."

And wait they did. Using Kratos' old cloak they made themselves a make-shift tent, held up by the cycle and both bladed weapons in their possession. All three were crouched underneath, and as Sam tried once again to work on the vehicle Claudia started sighing despondently.

"Man, the bag with our food in it is still at the inn…" she grumbled, keeping a wary eye on where Sam was poking his fingers as she leant back against the cycle. On occasion she would bat his hand away, but he'd be back at it soon enough.

"Check my bag if you're hungry," he eventually suggested, holding the weathered backpack out to her.

"I'm not hungry. I'm just worried that we're not going to have enough water to last until the trail…" she grumbled, but took his offer up all the same. Unlatching the cover she started rummaging around inside. "I don't think you have anything in here…"

"Hey, I have… stuff… I think…" came his mumbled reply, his finger still niggling between the pipes and digging out more lumps of oily sand.

Reaching into the bag Claudia pulled out a roll of bandage, a half full bottle of water, and- "What the-why do you have a gel jar…?" Unscrewing the lid, she peered inside. "Full of SAND?"

"Hey, it's not sand! It's that dust we found in the cave back home! Remember: it smelt like that musk stuff Tabitha gave you-"

"Why the hell do you have a jar of perfumed sand?" Claudia sniggered instead with a smirk, making the poor boy pink in the cheeks.

Sam snatched both it and the lid back and eventually stuffed it back into his bag, his extended arm being the one that ended with his grey and 'decaying' hand. Without the bandage, Kratos could clearly see the white mark the soldier in Triet had mentioned.

Halfway up Sam's lower arm, on the paler skin of the underside, a white mark was clear even against his fair complexion: a thin dragon or serpent, wrapped around a crescent shape, roughly two to three inches in diameter. Below that his arm was fine until his wrist, flesh gradually turning sickly grey, the blue of his veins disappearing under the sallow skin as it stretched like leather across his bones.

It wasn't hard for Sam to catch him staring. Sitting down properly he managed a soft sigh, wiping his good arm across his sweaty forehead as he looked down at his bad hand. "Guess you want to know more about this then…"

"We won't be moving for at least another two hours. I think this gives you a perfect opportunity," Kratos replied with a nod, and Sam sighed softly as he made himself a little more comfortable against the bike.

"Right… So, we're from Flanoir, right? Cold island to the north, covered in monsters. Me 'n' Claude, we were playing out in the snowfields, just on the outskirts with her brother and sister, when we were attacked by some of those monsters. They snuck up on us or something… I don't remember, but I do remember James- her brother- being hit pretty bad. We were all hurt in some way or another: I was only nine, so Tabitha was dragging me along to get me out of there when James was bitten. Man, there was so much blood… I panicked a little, especially when Tab started fighting back that bear, but I knew I could help him because I could use healing magic. Not much: it was never that strong when I was little, but my dad still taught me what he could. So I knew I had to do something.

"The first try wasn't much. It didn't actually change, though the second time did slow the bleeding down a little. All I could think of was what would happen if I couldn't help him. I thought he was going to die, even though he was actually telling me he was alright. Coherently speaking right at me, and if he wanted to he could probably limp away, but that was still all I could think."

"Man, you were crying so much…" mumbled Claudia, staring nostalgically out across the desert.

"Hey, those bears were, like, three times my-no, _your _size, and back then you were pretty big to me," Sam retorted, but ignored her glare as he looked at his hand again. "The next thing I knew it was like something had sucked all the wind out of me. I couldn't breathe, and I blacked out. Apparently I was out for hours, but when I came to all four of us were fine. They were all worried as hell, but there wasn't a single mark on any of us. Oh, except for my fingers," he added at the end, holding up the still bandaged digits. "They weren't getting any colour back, no matter how much they warmed me up. Everyone thought I'd caught some weird frostbite, but when nothing fell off they assumed I was alright and kinda ignored it."

He pulled the roll of bandage from his bag again, and like before he wrapped it around his hand. "As you can see, though, it's been getting worse. It can take months before there's any noticeable change, but if you're not looking then it's not that different. But using magic makes it burn like hell, so my mom treats bandages for me to use," he explained, wrapping it a fair way up his arm like before. "It stops it from spreading."

"There was no sign of this at all before you were nine?" asked Kratos, arms crossed in contemplation as he watched Sam. Claudia moved only to hold the bandage in place as Sam put a pin through, the softest of frowns on her features.

"Nope, nothing. Or at least nothing noticeable," he explained, letting out another small sigh as he looked at his bandage with a small smile. "That's definitely way better."

"What else do you know about it?"

"Not much. And as long as it doesn't kill me, stays down on my hand, I don't really care all that much," Sam said with a shrug. The frown disappeared from Claudia's face when he said this, and she rolled her eyes as she leant back against the bike with her arms crossed behind her head.

"That soldier in Triet called it the 'Decay', and he seemed to be interested in taking you only after he realised you had it," Kratos mused aloud, before meeting Sam's gaze again. "What's in Sybak?"

"The University and that giant library, as well as one of the biggest prisons run by the Eques, second only to the one in Meltokio. They practically run that place these days."

Resting a hand against his chin Kratos nodded slowly, looking out across the desert. These soldiers had such a stranglehold on the world: it wasn't that dissimilar to the Desians, only as far as he could make out from the information he'd been given so far the Eques merely arrested criminals, from the petty to the insane. The prisoners they'd seen hardly looked different from anyone else, so it was doubtful they were being experimented on.

But the Sybak prison… There were so many basement routes in the old Research Institute that it wouldn't surprise him if there was something going on between them and the prison. Other than assaulting the guard the navy haired half elf before him had done nothing to warrant arrest, and there was still the point that he wasn't a target until his bandage was taken off. What would a prison want with someone with that condition if it wasn't to 'take a closer look'?

Was he looking too deeply into this? He had no grounds to suspect the Eques of anything other than cruel and inhuman punishment… But after four thousand years of keeping an eye on the Desians he could see nothing but the deceit behind this new threat. The identification they were forcing civilians to carry all the time was too suspicious to ignore as well, and as a man without any this was a problem for him.

"Who distributes identification?" he asked instead, and was met this time with a suspicious look from both.

"City officials, obviously," snorted Claudia, like it was the most obvious answer in the world.

"The Mayor's office in Flanoir gave us ours, when we turned five," Sam explained a little better, before looking at Claudia with a curious shrug. "Maybe it's different where he's from?"

"If this identification is lost, how would you acquire another?"

"Uuh, I mean there's birthright papers, I guess. That's what we used?" Sam didn't sound so sure this time, tapping a thoughtful finger to his chin. "Nana had to take in a whole bunch of stuff when she was younger, apparently. They didn't have birthright papers back then, so they had to ask for a whole bunch of other stuff"

Identification looked to be getting more and more complicated to get, and so Kratos decided for now it would be best to try and find ways to travel without it. Birthright papers sounded like a big obstacle, and one he certainly couldn't manage in any legitimate way.

They sat under their makeshift tent for two hours, just as Kratos suggested, during which Sam and Claudia had been playing various games to pass the time. For almost an hour they'd been pulling the gestures for 'Rock, Paper, Scissors', with no sign of Sam giving up.

"Seriously, my arm is tired. Can _I_ give up?" Claudia eventually asked instead with a groan, barely holding her hand level with his anymore despite his eagerness to carry on.

"No way, I'm on a winning streak here…!"

Shaking his head softly Kratos delved into his bag and pulled out the food hidden inside, what he'd been given by Claudia's extended family the night before. "Eat. It's going to take a couple of hours to get to the trail on foot," he said, handing them the flask of water as well.

Even in the dark Sam's eyes lit up. "Hey, cake…!"

"A couple of hours? Okay, now I definitely wish the bike was still working…" Claudia grumbled, tearing off a lump from the half loaf in her hand.

"Shut up. She was a work of art 'til we got to the desert. Just wait until I get her back to Flanoir."

Kratos quickly shook his head when Sam said this. "We're not taking the cycle."

"_What_?" Sam's face fell when Kratos repeated himself, so despondently that if his eyes went any wider it wouldn't be that surprising if they fell out completely. "But… b-but…!"

"Even if it was working, how did you expect us to get a vehicle of that size past any guards between here and Izoold? We'd be spotted before we even managed to get close."

"Y-yeah, but-" Sam whimpered, looking up at the bike despondently.

But Kratos remained firm, crossing his arms and shaking his head. "Do you want to get caught? I thought the reason you asked me to help you was to get you safely to Izoold, correct?"

"But she's my _baby_…!"

"Sam, he's right. There's no way we can get it past the guards if they're waiting for you. There's no doubt they got a message there already, especially if you're not the only one they're looking for," Claudia tried to explain to the half elf, who was still pouting helplessly as he looked from his friend to the bike they were leant against.

"B-but…"

"I'll help you get another one, okay? Just leave this one here."

He took a moment to consider the offer, and eventually hung his head with a miserable sigh. "…Okay…"

It took a while for Sam to actually leave the vehicle. Other than the small box on the side, there was the box on the back that Kratos had been sat on as they escaped Triet which held a few odds and ends, and he was insistent on salvaging what he could wrench off that still worked. By the end his bag was stuffed to bursting: if he had the means, he would've taken the half-full fuel tank and the gearbox with him too.

Folding his cloak Kratos stowed it away in his own bag, sheathing his sword and taking another look around the desert. There hadn't been a single sign of anyone else for miles, the track they'd left in the sand already gone after constant winds. It had already cooled down so much compared to only a few hours ago, and it wouldn't be long before the sun would be beyond the horizon: hopefully Sam and Claudia could take the cold, particularly if they needed to sleep. They'd be in it until they reached the trail at least.


	6. Flashback to Lunch

_"No, wait-- Raine, wait another minute."_

_"But the longer we wait, the more we waste keeping the heat! If we put this in now-"_

_"It'll take longer, and it'll be ruined! Just-"_

_"You can help me, Professor!"_

_A small plateau near the top of the mountain had been the perfect place to stop for a break. Since setting off from Triet in the earlier hours of the morning they'd arrived at the trail connecting the edge of the desert to Izoold on the other side, and after a clash with an assassin near the base they'd stopped halfway across to gather their energy. It had been a harsh climb, and now that the midday sun was on them it made sense to pause. At this time of year it was always best to wait when the sun was at its harshest and, if possible, rest, to save from exhaustion and heat stroke. If any of them were affected by the sun it would take them even longer to get to the port town._

_Setting up a small fire in a ring of stones a weathered old pot was quickly filled with water and left to boil, the small group splitting what chores there were to prepare lunch between them to get them done faster. Since setting off almost a week ago they hadn't had much of a chance to relax like this: after travelling for hours they'd drop off to sleep in moments, and at any other time they were often pursued by Desians, monsters, or both. It wasn't hard to see why everyone was at ease._

_"Is this alright, Genis?" asked Colette, showing a mishmash of roughly diced carrots to the young half elf._

_"That's great! Just put them in the bowl for now--Hey, why aren't you helping?"_

_Hands on his hips, Genis was now looking at the boy in red sat a little ways from the fire, bent over whatever he was fiddling with in his hands with a level of concentration the half elf had never seen before. On the floor to his left were his gloves, dropped and forgotten the moment he sat down._

_When Genis snapped at him he looked up with a pout. "What-I'm fixing this for Colette! Ask Kratos to help!"_

_"He _is_ helping!"_

_Lloyd flinched at his friend's quick reply, the hand that flung out to point at the mercenary on the other side of the fire causing the older of the two to duck, in the fear that something was about to be hurled in his direction. But he was sat back upright in seconds, and waving airily in dismissal. "I'll help in a minute!"_

_Hands resting back on his hips Genis huffed, before a sly smile crept across his face. "You better had, or you're not getting any, Lloyd!"_

_It'd been a while since they'd been laughing as well. It may have been from poking fun, but it was laughter all the same, like nothing was wrong at all. From Kratos' previous experience it wasn't often that a pilgrimage such as this would have any kind of real joy. Priests would be present, not friends, and when outside the towns and cities filled with salvation-searching citizens the conversations would dwindle quickly into silence. That's how a Journey of Regeneration would normally be carried out, but this cycle had taken a cruel twist right at the beginning with the death of the priests right at the doors of the Martel Temple._

_Was it a good thing to see the latest Chosen of Regeneration so happy? Amongst friends, who had joined her with the desire to protect her from the murderous Desians, and the cruel creatures that roamed the seals she had to break? Who, in the end, would watch all that work be for nil, and have that beloved person die to save the world?_

_It would be difficult, but he had no doubts that they would make it somehow. Colette, the Chosen of Regeneration from Iselia, had such a steadfast group of friends from her hometown joining her that it was doubtful they'd let her meet her grim end alone. Raine, her school teacher, had come along as a guardian because of her interest in the angel transformation and the ruins they'd be exploring, but the concern for her pupil was clear enough as well. Ever since her collapse at the Triet Ruins, Raine had kept a close eye on Colette for any other signs of illness: if she was suffering in any way, the poignant feeling would quickly spread to the others._

_It was during their brief stay in Triet that they were joined by Lloyd and Genis. Having been left in Iselia they quickly caught up, despite the older of the two somehow being captured by Renegades, and already the positive changes to the Chosen's mood was obvious. Though worrying about their welfare it was clear she was happy they were around, but Kratos had his doubts that they would be able to keep up such a carefree attitude. Palmacosta had more than its fair share of Desians: one wrong move, and they could all be killed… Well, that's what he was here for._

_But for Lloyd to be here as well… He thought he'd managed to keep him in Iselia by leaving early, but his stubborn attitude clearly wouldn't let them go so easily. He may have held his own against the guardians in the Triet Ruins, but would he be able to stand up to what was still to come? To have Lloyd die at the Tower of Salvation, or at any point during the Journey of Regeneration…_

_He'd have to wait and see. His devotion for the Chosen would likely get him through a lot, and he seemed to have inherited a lot of bull-headedness. The next few months would be the perfect opportunity to get to know just how far he would go to save her._

* * *

It was very close to midnight by now, the moon beginning to dip in the sky but still beaming bright. Without it, they would've been lost somewhere on the mountain side, or worse; still down amongst the guards, barely moments from capture. They'd been lucky to get so far without trouble, using the landscape to their advantage and keeping to the shadows of the trees, and it didn't seem that anyone had been up the path itself for years. He was lucky to still make out what was left of it between piles of rubble from rockslides, with overgrown plants taking over the rest. Despite being unkempt the tiny plateau near the crest of the mountain was still there, a thick carpet of grass having grown and providing a comfortable, makeshift bed to sleep on for the time being.

Over the years the mines beneath the Ossa Trail had been expanded and strengthened, and had become what the locals now knew as the Ossa Pass. With such an easy road passing through underneath the mountain range it was only to be expected that the old trail had fallen out of use, especially considering the amount of vehicles that must pass through on a daily basis, such as the young half elf's cycle. But the road was heavily guarded, with a toll at the desert end and most likely another at the other, and since word had most likely been passed to the soldiers here the security was even tighter than Kratos had expected. Several times they'd almost been spotted on their way to the old trail, and he refused to chance staying too long anywhere along it.

Sam and Claudia were sitting against one of the few trees that were there, fast asleep and leaning against each other with Kratos' cloak wrapped around them. Kratos himself was a short distance away beneath another tree, looking out across the view sprawled before him, which was bathed in moonlight: the desert, with Triet lost somewhere in the waves of sand. They weren't stopping for long just in case a patrol did make its way up past them. There had been signs of people passing through, not enough to be noticeable to the average eye and definitely too careful to have been made by marching guards, but he wasn't willing to take the chance. If someone had been up here he didn't want them to alert soldiers, especially if it meant another run in with those darts.

The moon was almost out of sight by now, and the colour started to fade into the sky, each star blinking out one by one. It may have been only a few hours but a rest was still a rest, and they had to get moving to get down the other side before it was too light. Getting to his feet he went to the two still sleeping peacefully, and gave their feet a gentle nudge. "Wake up."

Sam rolled over with a groan and curled up on his side amongst the roots, whilst Claudia stretched her back and squinted as she unfolded her arms, looking up at Kratos. "W-what…?" she mumbled, fighting back a yawn as the cloak fell from her shoulders. The half elf muttered something, just like he had been for most of the night, but didn't move. "How long've we been-?"

"A few hours. We should get moving, before it gets light," said Kratos, bending down to pick up his cloak. A corner was still caught in Sam's hand, but with a sharp tug it was relinquished and he groaned again.

"Not yet…!" he whined, curling up even tighter.

Claudia dug a finger into his side, making him jump. "C'mon, we need to get going…"

* * *

Such a swarm of metal-clad men there had never been. A vicious clanking filled the air, the scrape of rusty plates and heavy boots rattling the nerves of every resident in Izoold, chasing every man, woman and child indoors. Even then they weren't safe as they stormed in every house, cleared every cupboard, leaving no stone unturned. Pasting posters of escapees on every wall, door and post they could they interrogated all they saw.

A market had been set up near the main dock, and despite the looming shadow of the soldiers back at the entrance to the pass the fishermen were revelling in the early morning sea breeze, setting up their stalls under the misty light with cheerful banter. Long sun beams swept between the buildings, accompanied by an accordion and a gentle ring of bells over the murmur of the crowd.

Grinning like a fool Sam lead the way through the people pushing past, followed closely by Claudia and Kratos. He passed from stall to stall with enthusiasm, checking over whatever the merchants had to sell: most were fish, but there was the occasional one where the goods were material, such as bracelets or clothes. Sam seemed to be looking for the more mechanical side of 'material', and there did seem to be the occasional scrap cart lined up amongst the rest offering their wares in the misty morning sun.

A few steps behind him was Claudia, looking from one stall to another a little more carefully than him, browsing the glistening shelves with cat-like curiosity. After another small cart from Ozette, covered in carved wooden trinkets, came a stand littered with jewellery, at which her eyes seemed to glow in awe. The bracelets that jingled amused her most, and she gave one or two a shake before settling on an orange and silver one laced with small bells, handing over a few notes to the owner with a smile. A few small bags of beads made their way into her possession, as well as string and wire, and once she was satisfied she headed after Sam.

Other than fish and jewellery there wasn't much being sold. There was little focus on defence, despite the fact that Kratos had seen many people armed, including the two he was escorting. If it was unusual the 'Eques' would have surely brought it up before now…

Slowly they made their way down to the port between the stalls, heading to the boats waiting in the water to sail to Flanoir and Palmacosta. Bobbing up and down their passengers were already boarding, heaving their luggage up the ramps and handing their tickets to the stewards waiting on the deck. As Kratos approached Sam and Claudia waiting on the stone port he looked up at the body of the nearest ship, the paint discoloured from years of ferrying people back and forth between the continents.

But Sam and Claudia were staring up at the boat as well, watching everyone board with grave expressions.

"What's wrong?" he asked as he approached.

Soon enough they were hanging their heads. "Our tickets… they're back in my bag in Triet…" Claudia muttered, running her hands across her face.

"And you keep saying I'm the idiot…?" Sam huffed, earning himself a glare from Claudia as she grumbled in frustration. "Why didn't you keep them in your bag?"

"Because last time _you_ did that they were stolen, and we had to ask Edward to buy the tickets home again…!"

Sam went red in the face. "S-shut up…!"

As they started bickering Kratos ran a hand down his face despondently, shaking his head softly. "When did you realise this?" he asked, managing to silence them both.

There was an awkward murmur. "…Just now. When I looked in my bag. They were in my notebook, which I thought I had with me, but I… don't…" Once again Claudia hid her face, what was visible of her cheeks between her fingers almost as red as her hair.

Sam hung his head again, muttering curses under his breath. "Great…"

Letting out a gentle sigh Kratos' gaze drifted back towards town, over the tops of the stalls towards the buildings near the entrance. "…Let's go to the inn for now. You can think of what to do from there."

"You mean 'call Tab and Ed and ask them to send us money'? Yeah, that's another three days we're gonna be stuck here…" the half elf grunted, agitated as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

Rubbing her eyes Claudia nodded in agreement, leaning against the railing of the dock. "It's the least they can do after we helped her move her stuff down here," she grumbled, to which Sam grunted at as he slouched in a grump.

"Yeah, but just wait 'till they hear about why we haven't got our tickets." Eyeing up a passing group of troops Sam slouched further, features shadowed with a frown as he stepped closer to Claudia. "Let's go to the inn…"

* * *

Since the time Kratos was last here Izoold, like Triet and Luin, had undergone drastic changes. The buildings were made of brick and stone, lining the new roads behind tall, smoke-blue lamp posts, looking more and more like the Sybak of old. Other than the market stalls there were small shops to draw in more tourism to the coast, mostly selling fish, but plenty of people were milling about from window to window. There were so many new buildings the shape of the once small village had changed completely, with only the road to guide them down the main stretch of town. He counted himself lucky to be familiar with vehicles, or the few trucks driving through town would have been too much for him to take.

They found an inn easy enough, and headed inside. Peering out from behind net curtains in the window Sam frowned as another patrol thundered past, while Kratos and Claudia were standing at the counter and speaking with the keeper. They were stuck on the mainland, surrounded by Eques guards, without their possessions… And without his bikes they'd have to travel everywhere on foot. Scowling, he huffed a sigh and let the curtain fall again, and turned back into the main room.

"You alright?" asked an unfamiliar voice, so close behind him that he couldn't help but jump in surprise.

He turned around, pressing himself against the wall as he looked at the person stood so close behind him, and peered into the black and gold eyes looking back at him. "U-uh… yeah. Thanks."

He'd never been so close to a demon before, not even a half-demon. This one was a young woman around his age, with a heart shaped face and a pleasant smile on dark lips. Dressed in a mossy green halter neck top and a pair of three-quarter length trousers her midriff, arms and lower legs were exposed, displaying reddish-brown skin and dark freckles. Long, rose-pink hair hung down to her lower back, held back in two high pigtails and tied at the top and bottom with black bands. When she moved she jingled slightly, thanks to the two golden hoops around her neck and the three around each wrist, and an anklet laced with bells that rang as she walked.

With a soft giggle she smiled again, brushing side swept bangs from those black and gold eyes of hers. "Good! You were looking a little uncomfortable, yeah?"

"Y-yeah..."

Her smile was bright and disarming, though when she spoke he could see small pointed fangs. "If you haven't been around the market yet, maybe we could go and look together?" she suggested, hoisting the basket on her arm a little higher to the crook of her elbow. It was full of different ingredients- it looked like she was planning on making some kind of stew.

At a loss for words Sam could only manage a quick nod. She giggled again, bid him farewell, and headed out the door with her long pigtails trailing behind her.

He didn't realise he was staring after her until someone shouter his name, and he whipped his head back to look towards the counter. "W-what?" he stuttered, before looking towards the stairs when he realised that she and Kratos had started heading up.

"Get off the wall! We've got to call Tab!" Claudia sniggered with a smirk, shaking her head at Sam's reaction as she followed Kratos up the stairs.

"H-hey, shut up! She just came out of nowhere…!" Pouting childishly he quickly followed: she'd never let him live this down.

Their room was down the end of the corridor, but Claudia and Sam stopped at the top of the stairs at a small box with a screen by the window. There was a handheld receiver to the left, along with a number pad beneath it and a small slot for money at the top. Above the screen were three small dots. Sighing softly Claudia fed a handful of coins into the slot and knelt before the device, holding the receiver to her ear.

"This is so embarrassing…" she muttered, pressing in a number.

"Yeah, well…" Sam tried to reply, but after a minute or so of staring at the blank screen he eventually gave up and let his shoulders hang in dismay. "Yeah. You're right…"

From the handset Kratos could hear a beeping noise, which stopped every few seconds before starting again, until the screen switched on and there was a soft clatter from the speaker. A young maid came up on the screen, smiling politely. "Good morning, Hellawes' household-" she started, before recognition spread across her face and her smile widened. "Ah, hello Miss Claudia!"

"Hi Katia…" the redhead mumbled, resting her head in her other hand. She could only just manage a dismal smile of her own. "Is Tabitha there? Or Edward?"

"Master Edward is right here. I'll hand you to him now."

The young woman stepped to one side as a man came into view, tall and thin with a mop of ash blonde hair on his head, which was tied back in a simple ponytail. Dressed in a white shirt and black trousers he smiled as he took the receiver, and gave Claudia and Sam a wave.

"Hey Claude. You've made it to Izoold then?"

Twirling the cable between her fingers Claudia awkwardly averted her gaze. "Uh, yeah… About that…"

His face fell a little, brow furrowing in concern as he leant against the table the screen at his end was housed on. "What's happened?" he asked, and Claudia ran a hand across her face in dismay.

"Something. In Triet. We had to leave our bags, and our tickets were in mine…"

He sighed softly, but was smiling in amusement as he shook his head. "So you need more? What about your ID?" At this the redhead jabbed a thumb at Sam, who was watching the screen with seemingly no clue as to what was going on. He gave a small wave regardless when he was addressed.

"Yeah, in Sam's bag, thankfully."

"You should keep them all together! It's safer that way!"

Head against the table top Claudia was nodding, hiding beneath her arm in shame. "I know…"

"You know the drill: it'll take two days to get the money down to you, and another day for the tickets to be validated. Do you have enough to stay at the inn that long?" he asked instead, and once again Claudia nodded. "Good. Do you want me to let Tabitha know what's going on?"

"Hell no. Are you crazy?" This only made Edward laugh, and after parting words Claudia hung up and rose to her feet.

"What'd he say?" asked Sam.

"Three days. 'Till then, we stay here."

He didn't seem too pleased by this, but nodded all the same. "I guessed as much…"

Both turned to Kratos, who was still stood at the top of the stairs behind them. "Are you staying here, or going to Iselia right away?" Sam asked in curiosity, adjusting the strap of his bag on his shoulder.

"I still have some questions to ask you, so I'll spend the night. The Eques will probably be here until tomorrow morning as well."

With his time now spare until tomorrow morning Kratos set about planning his route. Not to Iselia: that trip was barely a stone's throw away, but after that there were many places he wanted to visit. Heimdall, Palmacosta, Meltokio… The places occupied by the Eques he might have to rethink, but he would try his best to catch a glimpse at least. Maybe he could find out more about who was behind it, and their motivation. There had to be a reason for such an extreme method of keeping criminals, and the identification system was beyond unnecessary. What was the world coming to?

Settling at a bench down by the port he drew the map again and spread it out across the table top, using his bag to keep it pinned against the wind coming in off the ocean. After Iselia… Maybe south, to Palmacosta, then over to Heimdall. From there he could go to Meltokio, then Sybak, and then Flanoir. Going there any time too soon to when these two kids went might be too peculiar to them, so saving it for last was probably for the best. Then… well, Derris-Kharlan was close enough for the next two weeks. He could decide then whether he wanted to stay or not. There was nothing left up there other than the angels, and they were fully capable of taking care of the planet… But was there anything worth staying for on this strange new world?

It was almost like going back in time, back to when he was young: devices like the half elf's cycle and the screen back in the inn were popular around his childhood, or at least his teenage years. They had something like it in their own home, only there was no screen attached back then…

Barely registering the two young adults in his charge when they sat down opposite him, he only looked up when they placed a small wrapped item next to his arm. Bringing his attention to them he found Sam grinning at him. "It's raspberry shortcake-for what we ate in the desert yesterday," he explained, before quickly adding "Oh, and for helping us get here in the first place. It's not much, but it's something, right?"

He stared at the small lump for a moment, but soon nodded and picked it up, tucking it into the front pocket of his bag. "Thank you."

Sam continued to grin like an idiot. "No problem!"

"And…" Claudia spoke this time, delving into her pockets and drawing her small beaded purse. "…For getting us here. I know you said you didn't want any, but it'll pay for the room and maybe a night in a few other places too." She counted out about a thousand gald, folded the notes, and held them out to him. "I don't think we'd have made it past those guards at the Ossa Pass, especially with the bike. And we definitely wouldn't have found that path over the mountain. So... yeah, this is our thanks."

"Yeah, that was really lucky. How long has that path over the top been there for?" asked Sam, leaning forward inquisitively.

"A long time. Much longer than the road underneath, at least."

Sam raised his eyebrows, clearly impressed. "Wow. Must be _really_ old then."


	7. New Threads

"Ah, hello!" A shadow loomed over them with a soft jangle of metal bracelets, and all three at the table looked up at the rose-haired girl from the inn, carrying a basket even fuller than before on her arm. She smiled brightly at them. "You're staying at the inn, yeah?"

"That's us," Sam replied, grinning back. With her arms crossed Claudia leant against the table as she looked from the half-demon to Sam, gazing over the top of her red-rimmed glasses. The girl didn't seem to notice, resting a corner of the basket on the table.

"If you want, I'm helping mam make lunch: cod, and vegetable rolls!" She had a soft accent, one that was often attributed to people from Palmacosta, but the local voice was still strong in her words as she spoke.

Sam was still smiling, and looked at Claudia enthusiastically. "How 'bout it? Lunch sounds good right about now."

"Yeah, but it won't be for another two hours," she told him, grabbing the chain hanging from his waistcoat pocket and tugging a brass watch into sight.

He looked at it himself, and pouted at the time. "Oh yeah…"

"If you're hungry now, maybe I can make a quick something for you?" the girl offered instead, rummaging through her basket. "… Or… An apple, maybe?" Within moments she held a shiny red apple out to Sam. "I don't think mam will miss one."

"Oh, thanks!" It didn't take long for the half elf to be chomping on it, humming happily in delight.

"Are you going to the evening market tonight?" the young woman asked instead, adjusting the basket handle on her arm. Kratos watched as the two opposite him cast each other a clueless glance.

"The what?" Claudia eventually asked, Sam's mouth still too full of apple to reply without spitting.

"It's an end of week event, for merchants who want to sell the last of their merchandise before heading home," explained Kratos, and the girl from the inn nodded with a big smile.

"Exactly! Big gathering! Bonfire and music and dancing! It's lots of fun!" she told them, black and gold eyes shining slightly in enthusiasm. "Things normally sell cheap, too! Very nice things!"

"We should go!" Finally swallowing his mouthful Sam could finally exclaim this in excitement. "We haven't been to anything like that since the fair almost three months ago back home!"

"Yeah, 'cause we didn't have any money!" Claudia replied haughtily.

As the half elf started pouting, watching her with saucer-like eyes, the girl from the inn shook her head. "You don't have to pay for anything if you don't want to, yeah? Just go for the music: won't be another one until next week. I'll be dancing too!" she gushed, before a bell chimed from a tower nearby. "Oh, I need to go. Enjoy your afternoon! See you back at the inn!"

"Thanks, uh…" Sam started as she turned to walk away, though as he said this she turned back and winked with a grin, revealing her small, elongated canines once more.

"Valanoir Dewight!"

As she walked off, pigtails bouncing as she skipped down the path, Sam waving after her with a big grin. When he finally settled back down he noticed Claudia as she leant against the table, her head propped up on her arm as she gave him a sceptical look with an eyebrow quirked. "What?" he asked, and she snorted in disbelief at his cluelessness.

"What are you: blind? She was putting the moves on you!"

"Huh? Don't be stupid! She was just being nice!" The comment still made him go bright red.

"You saw that wink, right? She was seriously coming on to you…"

Running a hand over his face Kratos could do nothing more than roll his eyes.

Another swarm of soldiers started parading about the docks, and so they decided it would be best to relocate to somewhere out of sight. Sam and Claudia headed back to the inn, leaving Kratos to explore the now modern Izoold, to re-accustom himself to this old style of town. To him it was old: the closest he'd seen any town or city come to this level of development since the Kharlan War was Meltokio, and even then that wasn't much compared to how life was before the war. This was probably technology his parents had grown up amongst, but there were some things that hadn't been around back then at all.

Since mana had been rich back during the war the technology was run almost completely by magic. As that dwindled Exspheres came into use more prominently, awakened by the Desians to be used in any way they were necessary. Now that both sources of power were barely ghosts around here machines had taken on a strange image: lined with pipes the larger boats seemed to be powered by some kind of fuel-burning engine, large plumes of smoke escaping the towering funnels reaching up from the decks. Everything had taken on a wood-and-brass image.

The large passenger ships filled the docks with their immense bulk: the last vessel he'd seen that was anywhere near that size had been the war ship in Palmacosta, and even that seemed small and primitive compared to the boats resting in the water.

There was a separate dock for older boats. Most were made of metal, with the occasional wooden ship moored amongst them, and as expected almost all of them seemed to be owned by fishermen. The decks were littered with nets, baskets, buckets and ropes, but a lot of the owners were probably still at the market, either buying or selling. The more colourful ones appeared to belong to travellers or locals, one small one named after the school near the inn, and another the natural deep red colour of the wood it was built from. This section of the dock felt more like the world he knew…

After a brief walk around town Kratos eventually came to the buildings closer to the outskirts, a few farmhouses dotted here and there across the grasslands with their herds safely confined in wide pens. There were definitely more of them than there were before, the woodlands becoming smaller as fences surrounded any land claimed by the farmers out on the plains. Roads were more distinct as well from daily use, a large truck making its way towards the Ossa Pass at this very moment.

* * *

"Okay, so then you…" It was nearing midday by now, the sun high up above and warming the wind coming in from the sea. A lot of the locals had wandered to the outskirts after their morning in the market, and were making themselves comfortable in the grass to enjoy lunch, most likely bought from one of the stalls themselves. In the shade of a tree not far from the inn Kratos eventually found the two young adults he had escorted that morning, their small bags and their weapons abandoned amongst the roots as Sam and Claudia stood roughly three feet apart.

Holding a small dagger, Sam was nodding slowly as he listened to Claudia explain, whilst she held her sword at the ready behind her. Lifting it up in a slow arch over her head she brought it down towards his. "If it's from above…?" she asked, smiling when he brought the knife up to defend himself. "Right! And then…" She brought it around from the side, and once again he moved to stop her.

"Just wait 'till this is for real. Then you'll see how hopeless I am," he joked in reply, pretending to bring the dagger down in a fell swoop from above and making her chuckle.

"You'll be fine. Just enough to get away."

It didn't take them long to spot Kratos as he approached, and Sam was quick to wave him over with an enthusiastic grin like always.

"I've been wanting to ask you for a while now, but: how did you beat those guys in the desert so quickly?" Sam asked, sliding the dagger back into its scabbard, which was tucked into the top of his long boots. "It was just amazing! I've never seen anyone fight like that before! And when you swiped-I swear, it was like you were moving the wind!" He truly was enthralled: when he looked back at Kratos his eyes were wide with curiosity.

"Don't you know artes?" The two friends looked at each other blankly, then back at Kratos.

"Know 'what's?" Claudia replied, her nose wrinkled.

"Weapon skills. As you fight, you learn and develop them," he tried to explain, but their bemused expressions remained the same. He sighed, before turning to Claudia. "Do you stand there and swing your sword aimlessly at your opponent?"

This flustered her slightly. "W-what-No!"

"Then you have a certain style? Using a bladed whip takes a lot of skill."

"She hardly uses the whip in a real fight, except when they're far away." She shot Sam a glare when he muttered this, and with a quiet cackle he sat down beneath the tree.

"I have used it in a real fight. You're just never around!" she shot back. He waved her words off airily, and with a huff she turned back to Kratos, her arms crossed. "I'm learning at that part. But I can use the sword."

"But you can't use artes?"

"W-well… No," she mumbled in embarrassment, turning her gaze to the floor in shame. Another quiet sigh escaped Kratos' lips: even Lloyd could do the basics when he met him. "…How do you do it? It doesn't look that hard."

He lifted his hand and showed her the gem attached to the back of his hand, which glinted blue in the sunlight.

"Exspheres makes learning artes easier: they excel physical abilities, making the user stronger," he explained, and while Claudia was awed by the bauble he had, Sam seemed sceptical.

"That little gem? No way," he scoffed, but was clearly interested just as Claudia was.

"You'd be surprised at what this 'little gem' can do," Kratos replied, and as Sam leant back against the tree again with a shrug Kratos turned back to Claudia, motioning for her to step back. "With practice, you can attack like this."

He drew his sword, the long silver blade flashing briefly as he swung it in a wide arch. Along the crescent shape he drew in the air came a blaze of white, which pelted across the grass towards Sam as he yelped in surprise.

Scrambling to his feet the half elf stared at the line embedded in the bark of the tree just a little to the left of where he was sitting, hardly as amused as Claudia was as she sniggered under her breath.

Sheathing his sword again Kratos turned the redhead. "Without an Exsphere it can be difficult to get the mana together to do the same, but it's not impossible. Demon Fang is one of the most basic artes."

"Demon Fang? Never heard of it…" she mumbled, but drew her sword all the same. "But I'm definitely going to do this. I'll make this work!"

Lowering the sword down past her waist, she swung the blade in the same fashion as Kratos had done only moments before. Sam flinched, but nothing happened… "W-what…?" She tried again, stepping into it with determination and pouting when the result was the same. "Damn it…!"

"It'll take a while. Just as I said: it's more difficult without an Exsphere," Kratos tried to assure her, keeping an eye on where her sword was actually going, but she didn't seem to be listening.

"How 'bout… NOW!"

"Uh…" Sam dared to inch closer from behind, where Claudia was less likely to hit him, and tried to get her attention.

"…Damn it!"

"Claude, I'm going to go get lunch."

"…Damn it!"

"You want anything?"

"…DAMN IT!"

With a shrug the half elf turned away, looking back at Kratos when he realised he was still watching Claudia in disbelief. "Want to go get something to eat?"

* * *

"Oh, you came!" Wandering into the dining room of the Seagull Inn Kratos and Sam had barely had a chance to look around before they were approached by Valanoir from earlier that morning.

Sam grinned, getting a little rosy-cheeked. "Yeah, I got a little hungry," he replied, with Kratos standing next to him clearly forgotten the moment his eyes laid on Valanoir. Within moments they were guided to one of the empty tables, which was next to a window with a beautiful view across the ocean. Sam was entirely focused on Valanoir, but Kratos didn't mind: looking out at the boats was certainly more entertaining by this point.

"You have perfect timing: we just finished cooking!" Valanoir beamed, before dashing off towards the kitchen with a skip in her step.

There were no remnants of the old inn visible. The dining area was small, housing five round tables (four seats to each) with a wide doorway leading to three more tables outside, which looked out across the ocean. Though the building was made of stone the floors were wooden, the clunking of footsteps warmer across them than they were on the stone outside. There were one or two familiar old paintings on the walls, including an old map hanging between the door that lead outside and one of the windows, depicting Sylverant as it was before the worlds were re-joined. Lights hung in clusters of three outwards-facing glass bulbs between the tables, shaded by frosted crystal flowers, but they were switched off at the moment.

Sam was smiling as Valanoir returned, carrying two plates with a few of the vegetable rolls she mentioned earlier, and a small helping of cod steak drizzled with tomato sauce. "Here, try a little. Helpings are bigger, but taste it first," she said, placing the plates between the two sat at the table.

Picking up one of the rolls Sam offered the other to Kratos, but he shook his head. "Really?" the half elf mumbled in surprise, before taking a bite. "…Wow, you sure you don't want any?"

"I'm fine, thank you," came the curt reply, before he stood up with his bag in hand. "I'm going to take another look around the market."

"Uh, okay… I'll probably go back to Claude after this," Sam replied with a slightly awkward shrug. Kratos ignored it, and headed towards the door, hearing Sam already lost in conversation with Valanoir once again.

* * *

He doubted he'd get much for what little money he had, but there was no harm in trying. His old armour was still up in Welgaia: with nothing to defend himself against he hadn't worn it for a while, but since his departure had been so sudden he hadn't had the chance to fetch it before returning to the planet. His clothes weren't in their best condition either: having already gone through a sparing match or two with the Eques without armour the holes in the pale fabric were increasing, and two of the belts on his left hip were broken. He would've preferred his usual outfit, but being in his Cruxis uniform at the time meant he was in it now, and the only way to change was to buy something different.

But looking over the different stalls he knew he wouldn't be changing any time soon. The price of what was on display was more than he had, even for some of the simpler items that were around. Even durable clothes were hard to come by without a high fee, but he had to admit the places they came from were impressive: Iselia, Luin and Triet were close-by, but there were some offering armour from Sybak, Flanoir, and even Heimdall. The man stood behind the counter of the rune-scribed items of the far-off forest was clearly of elven decent, but was cheerfully greeting anyone who came to him, an out of character trait if he'd been around three hundred years ago.

The stall alongside the elf's contrasted strongly: instead of the pale greens and deep purples of the Ymir Forest were stark reds, deep browns, and shimmering golds, polished to perfection and glistening in the sunlight. Behind the display was a dwarf, twinkling eyes half hidden behind bushy black eyebrows and whiskers, but by the squint he was giving everyone he appeared to be smiling just as much as the elf to his right.

He seemed to be selling mostly clothes and armours, with one large hammer-type weapon on a wooden stand closer to the back of the table, and a few accessories in a glass case before him. The armour was more than Kratos could afford, but for now he could possibly get one of the shirts to cover the holes he had in his clothes at the moment. Admittedly there were more colours like green, blue, purple and yellow, but it was the red one that had drawn his eye to the stall in the first place. The dwarven process of making clothes didn't seem to have changed much over the years: studs ran along the seams along the arms and down one side of the chest, though they were smaller than they used to be. The trousers he was selling were much the same, more basic than the rest of his wares, but seemingly just as good.

"Six hundred gald, if you're interested," said the dwarf, eyeing up the rips in Kratos' outfit.

But Kratos was still looking at what was spread before him. "I've heard dwarven wares are renowned for their resilience."

"This is the best, sir, second only to the work of Dwarf Irvine! Would you like to try one on?"

Picking up one made of thick, dark purple material highlighted with the silver studs Kratos looked it over with a shake of his head. His size hadn't changed for over four thousand years: anything close was good enough.

"Measurements?" he asked, and the numbers fed back to him were close enough.

"A set of pants will set you back another three hundred."

"How about eight hundred for both?" Kratos offered, picking up a pair of dark grey denim trousers and checking them over in the same way as the shirt.

But the dwarf's gaze had been drawn to the back of Kratos' left hand. "That there's dwarven work…" he mumbled, before narrowing his eyes. "You're not one of them Eques, are you?"

"No." Reaching into his bag he drew the gald he'd received from Sam and Claudia. "Do you see many of the soldiers with Exspheres equipped?" he asked, counting out eight hundred. The dwarf shook his head.

"Not many humans who know what they're called anymore either. Only dwarves call them by their real names these days, and normally only the Eques use them, asking crafters at Moria for Key Crests. Good pay, but no one likes to work for them," he explained, and when Kratos handed over the money he handed back two hundred. "Take them. You look like you need them."

* * *

"DAMN IT, _C'MON_!" The yell wasn't hard to hear once he'd reached the outskirts. With his Cruxis uniform folded and tucked into his bag Kratos was now wearing the purple shirt and dark grey pants, still wearing his old navy shirt underneath as something between his skin and the thick material he was now dressed in. Sam was back outside as well, sitting in the shade of the tree again but away from the trunk, since Claudia was still aiming towards it. But other than the mark Kratos had done earlier there didn't seem to be much improvement.

Looking up when Kratos stood next to him, Sam looked him up and down. "Nice threads."

He barely hummed in reply, watching the redhead in disbelief as her shoulders heaved in exhaustion. But despite this she lifted her sword again, and aimed another swipe at the tree.

When nothing happened, she groaned helplessly in defeat. "Aw c'mon…!" she whined, her whole body slumping as the tip of her sword rested against the floor.

"Want something to eat?" asked Sam, holding up a small wrapped lump that had been resting on his lap.

"Not until I do this!" she seethed in agitation, before gripping the hilt of her sword again with resolve. Glaring at the tree, she swung the sword around and extended the chain. "_Damn it!_ I said DEMON FANG!"

Swinging the chain around in a wide arch the tip segment of the sword tore a chunk of earth up from the ground and sent it flying, leaving a deep scar in the grass. But her two spectators were focused on what fled from the end of the whip, trailing wearily along the ground for a moment or two before vanishing when it bumped against the roots of the tree.

Sam jumped up with a cheer. "Claude you did it!"

Staring at where the little white fang had vanished the young woman looked dumbfounded, before smiling triumphantly at Sam's exclamation. Throwing her hands in the air she cheered, before falling back onto the grass like a rag doll with a loud thud. Sam was soon at her side ashe called her name in concern, and ran a hand over his face when he found her giggling woozily to herself.

"We should take her back to the inn. She's been out here for a few hours trying to do that," said Kratos, helping Sam lift Claudia off the ground. With an arm each around their shoulders they started back towards the inn: was it that difficult to use artes without an Exsphere by now?


	8. Bonfire

The afternoon had crawled on during their visit to the inn, during which Claudia had been dozing on her bed under Sam's watchful eye. As with Kratos back in Luin he fetched a small plate of fruit and a glass of water to put on her bedside table, and waited patiently at her side until she stirred, rummaging through and arranging his bag in the meantime. After fetching a pair of boots from downstairs (the inn keeper's wife had commented on his 'odd' footwear earlier and offered him something a little more substantial) Kratos returned to hear the conversation the two friends were having.

"Are you sure you're okay to get up?" asked Sam, a little concern creeping into his voice despite the fact that Claudia had simply overworked herself.

She stiffled a yawn. "Yeah… How long was I-"

"About an hour, in and out. Just proves you're an idiot."

"I'm not an idiot. I just wanted to do that Fang thing…"

Kratos knocked gently on the door before letting himself in. Claudia was now sitting up and gulping down the glass of water, but seemed no worse for wear after her time in the sun other than a little colour to her face and exposed collarbone. "How are you feeling?" he asked, earning a thumbs up from the redhead as she finished off the water.

"How come you get to call me an idiot, when I don't get to do the same?" Sam grumbled with his arms crossed, looking annoyed.

Picking up the apple Claudia ruffled his hair with her free hand. "That's because with you, you tend to actually hurt yourself," she pointed out, before swinging her feet over the side of the bed and standing up. "See? I'm fine."

Sam eventually agreed with a nod, before turning to Kratos with a shrug. "So… now what do we do?"

* * *

"I've never used a weapon like this before, so pardon my unfamiliarity with it." They were back outside next to the tree, with Sam now climbing up amongst the branches to entertain himself as Kratos and Claudia discussed at the bottom. Wielding the short sword in hand the mercenary gave it a swipe, while Claudia ran a hand through her hair with an awkward smile.

"It's no problem. I'm not that good with it either…" she mumbled, embarrassed. She stepped back when he extended the whip. "It jams sometimes when you extend it. Other than that, it's fine."

"Hm…" With another flick of his wrist it returned to its full state, at which point he handed it back. "You haven't had any real training with it then?"

"Only what my uncle taught me. We normally just run from monsters back home, and the only time I've started a fight with the Eques was yesterday," she answered, sliding it back into the scarf-wrapped scabbard she had attached to her hip.

"Plus I'm a decent shot," added Sam, hidden somewhere up in the branches as a few twigs littered his holsters, which he'd taken off and left amongst the roots.

"What about you? Where'd you learn to fight like that?" There was a curiosity in Claudia's voice that hadn't been aimed towards Kratos yet, and her question had intrigued Sam enough to draw him down from the branches again.

He landed a short distance away on all fours, his fingers brushing the grass to support him before he stood up again, grabbing his firearms in the process. "Yeah, only soldiers fight that good," he said, tying the belt back around his hips.

"I'm not a soldier: I've travelled more than most, and that gives you plenty of experience," Kratos answered, but both still looked skeptical. "If I were one of the Eques, why would they attack me? Wouldn't I have ID?"

They cast each other a questioning glance, still a little uncertain. "I guess so…" Sam mumbled.

"Deserter, maybe? Do people actually run out of the Eques…?" Claudia queried in response, and Kratos shook his head.

"I'm not one of them. I thought that was clear by now," he almost huffed, crossing his arms and watching both sternly.

They mumbled an apology each, but soon enough Sam brought a hand to his chin in thought once again. "Maybe they kicked him out…"

Kratos ran a hand despairingly down his face as Claudia sniggered. At least they weren't being completely serious about this line of thought.

* * *

Clouds started coming in off the ocean as evening drew closer, but despite the looming gloom the civilians of Izoold were happily getting ready for the night market. An enormous stack of firewood had been gathered down on the sandy shore and had already drawn a large crowd, eager to see the bonfire illuminate the waves later. The stalls were still being set up as well, a few food carts added to the mixture and going around, pandering to customer needs.

Claudia was staring despondently at the clouds, the night coming faster as the light of the sunset was blocked by oncoming rain. Or at least oncoming misery, judging by the dark clouds. "It's not going to rain, is it?" she mumbled dismally, holding out a hand to feel for raindrops.

Sam caught her hand before she had a chance to take it back, dragging her out into the market with unbridled enthusiasm. "C'mon, I bet there's loads of stuff around now!"

"Geez, I feel like a babysitter again…!" Claudia groaned as she rolled her eyes, but an excited smile could still be seen on her lips as she followed Sam into the crowd.

As the girl from the inn had told them most of the merchants had brought out the last of their stock for tonight, calling anyone and everyone over with 'huge price reductions' and 'enormous bargains', though there were some people missing. The dwarf who had sold Kratos his new clothes was gone, and the middle-aged woman with the wooden carvings he'd seen earlier had moved to his old stall, next to the elf. They were conversing amiably over a mug of coffee, the one in the woman's hands one of her own wares and carved with small flowers.

It wasn't long before the bonfire was lit, bringing more and more people to the streets to peruse any new things on sale, accompanied by a band near the beach. Perched on a small wooden bandstand they played with high spirits, and it was down to the music that Sam and Claudia were drawn.

"Man, I haven't heard live music in ages! It feels like it's been years!" exclaimed Sam, bouncing gently on the balls of his feet with the cheerful tune.

"I know, right? They don't do things like this in Flanoir anymore!" Claudia replied eagerly, doing her best to see where it was coming from over the crowd by standing on her toes. One song ended and another began, separated by a short round of clapping by anyone watching and listening.

"Got any plans tonight?" Sam asked Kratos, who had been looking over a nearby stall with interest. Charms and bracelets were lined up neatly with small price tags, each one bold with the change in price. When he shook his head he had no chance to continue, as Sam pointed to the bonfire with a wide sweep of his arm, almost knocking Claudia out in the process. "Come sit with us at the beach! We're going down to meet Vala!"

"Uh…"

"You mean _you're_ going down to meet her," added Claudia, smirking mischievously and prodding him in the arm. "Didn't you think that maybe he was actually going to do something else?"

"I was just offering…"

"I might join you later," Kratos spoke over them as they started bickering again, and as they bid their farewell he headed back up the line of stalls.

Not much had changed since that morning. If anything, there was less available now at a slightly lower price: this only reaffirmed the common fact that everything was cheaper when bought from the actual store, unless prices had really inflated that much in three hundred years. These numbers still seemed a little steep, and he had much less gald than he probably needed for his travels. How was he supposed to get any more money?

He headed down for the bonfire sooner than he'd planned. There wasn't much point wandering around a market if he had nothing to do there, and he'd already looked around enough. Occasionally he would catch a glimpse of soldiers wandering around, and decided that he would head back to the inn soon.

With the proximity of the band to the beach and the bonfire it wasn't surprising to see people already up and dancing. Most were children and young teenagers, but more and more were joining as the youngsters were called away by their parents for bed. Amongst them were a few of the stall owners enjoying a short break, and with the ringing of small bells and bracelets Valanoir was easy to spot, hands clasped with Sam's as they made their way around the circle with the others dancing.

Sitting on the sand in front of one of the benches Kratos caught sight of Claudia, who was watching the sky as her head leant back on the seat. On her lap was her small travel bag, mostly empty save for a green pencil case, a bottle of water, her purse, and a smaller bag holding what she'd bought earlier in the market. When he climbed over the bench and sat beside her she lifted her head, muttering a dismal greeting to him as she looked through her mostly empty bag again.

"What's wrong?" he asked: he wouldn't have been surprised if she'd lost something. These two seemed to have a knack for it already.

"My notebook is definitely back in my bag. I don't even have a little one in here…" she grumbled, flipping the cover back over and latching the belts.

Remembering the small one in his own bag Kratos pulled it out and handed it to her, much to her surprise. "It's weight I don't need, since I'm not using it."

"Fantastic…!" she gasped, flicking through the pages with the smallest of smiles until she came to a small amount of scrawl at the front. "Oh, it's Tabby's. Well, I don't think she'll miss it…"

"Why aren't you joining in?" he asked instead, gesturing to the fire as she drew a pen, but she scoffed at his question.

"I don't dance."

"Really?"

"Obviously."

"Claudia!"

Kratos had already spotted Sam heading across from the fire when Claudia said this, and watched the half elf hold his hands out towards his friend with an enormous grin. His cheeks were flushed and he was a little out of breath. "Wanna dance?" he asked, and unlike the gruff reply she gave Kratos she smiled apologetically.

"Nah, I'm good here."

"C'mon you killjoy!"

"It's fun, yeah?" Valanoir was soon at Sam's side, looking much better than Sam after their time around the fire. She was smiling enthusiastically as the navy haired boy tried tugging the notebook from Claudia's grasp, before holding a hand out to Kratos. "You wanna try too?" He shook his head: this seemed to be enough for the half demon, but Sam was much more persistent with Claudia.

"You're so boring…!" he whined, his hands on her book but not actively tugging anymore, and kept her from putting pen to paper. "C'mon: please?" He was pouting now as well, and with a cynical look over her glasses Claudia quirked an eyebrow.

"What am I: your mother?" But despite her grumbling she was soon on her feet, a hand each taken by Sam and Valanoir once her book was safely tucked away in her bag, which was handed to Kratos for safekeeping. They dragged her towards the fire, and were twirling her around in a heartbeat.

"Excuse me," a soft voice interrupted from behind Kratos, and when he turned around he found the woman from the wooden crafts stand walking towards him. She was still a fair distance away, but there was no one else around: was she talking to him? She was definitely looking at him, her long hair tied in a plait that hung down over her shoulder and coloured red or pink. She was wrapped up in an elven cloak, pinned at the shoulder with a blue gem mounted on a simple white crest, and wearing a pair of grey and white boots adorned with silver buckles.

Before she could say anything else a group of soldiers stormed onto the beach. They tore through the benches with vicious kicks as if they were simply stomping through grass, and in an instant the people dancing scattered. The band stopped, leaving only frightened gasps and furious yelling in place of the music.

"Everyone return to your homes, by order of the Eques Scientiae!" Sam and Claudia were already rushing back to Kratos, the younger of the two pulling up the hood of his waistcoat as the guards started herding people off the beach. The bonfire was already being put out, letting the darkness of the ocean sweep swiftly across the sand towards them.

"Get to the inn," Kratos told them, handing Claudia her bag, and as they headed past him he looked around once again for the woman in the elven cloak. But she'd vanished.

"Hurry up! They might start checking for ID!" Claudia hissed, having come back to grab him by the arm, and after fighting their way through panicking crowds they were headed up to their rooms in the inn.

* * *

Collapsing onto his bed Sam whined hopelessly, hiding his head beneath his arms. "What the hell are they doing here...?"

"We weren't really supposed to be here tonight..." Claudia muttered, chancing a glance through the window. A group were heading past now, though a man in blue and silver armour stood out the most as he brought up the rear.

"D'you... think they'll search the buildings?" Sam mumbled quietly, looking up at Claudia with a frown. He still had his hood pulled up, and was holding the edges tentatively.

Her eyes betrayed her stony features, and eventually she gave a somber nod. "Probably..."

Closing his eyes, he let his head hang. "Damn it...!"

Pulling the curtains shut Claudia switched on the lamp on the table between the beds, before crossing her arms as she paced the threadbare carpet. "Where can we go...? Someone's going to be here with the tickets, and we need them to get back..." she mumbled, holding her thumb to her lips as she thought.

"What about Iselia?" Kratos suggested, and like lightning had struck both were focused on him barely a split second after he'd said this.

"We could... It'd only take about a day to walk there..." mused Sam, but Claudia shook her head.

"No, we'd have to go through the Ossa Pass again."

He was about to hide his face in the blanket again when Kratos took out his map, and once it was spread on the empty bed he was looking over it closely. "...There's a road north west of here. It's longer, but it eventually leads around the mountains to Iselia," he explained, tracing a line with his finger for Claudia, who was leant over the opposite side, to make out.

"There's only fields and moorlands out there, and loads of monsters. It's too dangerous," she argued, arms still crossed as she shook her head.

"Would you rather stay here?" When propositioned with this, she grimaced slightly before looking at Sam, who was once again looking hopelessly at her. "I'm headed to Iselia, so I'll be going with you anyway," Kratos assured them, which helped them both look a little more relaxed at the suggestion.

"That means we have to go now, doesn't it...?" Claudia grumbled, her shoulders slumping further and further in disappointment, and when Kratos nodded she groaned. "Great, another night with no dinner, no bath, and no bed."

"I'm sorry, Claude..." The quiet mumble from the boy on the bed drew her to Sam, who moved to sit up at the side of the bed instead. His head was bowed, and with her brow furrowed Claudia knelt beside him, a comforting hand on his knee.

"Don't say that-"

"But it's my fault! If it wasn't for this...!" He grabbed his bandaged arm with a growl. "...they wouldn't be after us! I'm sorry Claudia...!"

"It's not your fault," she replied sternly, leaning closer and giving his knee a squeeze. "You've done nothing wrong, so don't apologise. You can't help what's happening to your arm."

"But-" he was about to start again, but she shook her head.

"And don't start talking about Triet either! You were saving that kid!" Standing up, she brought an arm around his shoulders. "It'll all be over once we get home. Heck, in a few days, they'll probably forget all about you."

"We should get going. If we keep walking, we should be able to make it to the forest at the base of the nearest mountains in an hour or so," said Kratos, folding the map and tucking it back into his bag. Sam and Claudia nodded and gathered what few possessions they had around the room before heading to the door, switching the light off again.

The floors creaked under the amount of people walking back and forth from their rooms, some frightened by the Eques' presence, others annoyed, and almost every one using the hall as a congregation point to discuss what was happening outside. Some children had even taken the chance to get out of bed again, and were weaving between the legs of the crowd. Almost twice Claudia stumbled, glaring at a giggling ball of energy dashing off into another room as she did her best to follow Kratos, who was making his way to the stairs without any trouble. With Sam in tow, they were in the foyer within minutes, where Mr and Mrs Dewight were trying their best to calm their guests and see to their needs, their daughter nowhere in sight.

"Hey, shouldn't we try and get our money back on the rooms?" Claudia suggested as Kratos guided them towards the front door, but her question was answered when Sam shoved her out into the night.

The streets were deserted except for the soldiers storming up and down the alleys, tearing apart dustbins and rooting through old boxes as they pasted posters of the missing escapee on every surface they could find. Some were even barging into houses and closed shops, ignoring the angry yells from the owners as they smashed through the shelves of merchandise.

The bandstand had been taken over as well: four soldiers in dark silver armour were stood with the man in blue and silver that had walked past the inn earlier. From up on his pedestal he looked around the immediate vicinity, arms folded as he watched the stalls being torn down. He hadn't removed his helmet, the vaguely draconic shape hiding his face and hair completely and keeping him anonymous to the crowds he was threatening, other than the name 'General Eli'. The lower foot-soldiers ran back and forth with updates, much like they had to the Captain in Triet, but even then they spoke to the four guards accompanying.

"Wait!" Nearing the outskirts of town the small group of three were ready to set off across the grasslands when a voice called to them, accompanied by the now familiar ringing of bracelets. Wrapped up in a cloak with a small bag slung over her shoulder Valanoir was running towards them, silhouetted by the dim lights of Izoold behind her.

"W-what are you doing? Shouldn't you be staying in town?" Sam asked, surprised that she was even following them.

A little short of breath she fixed the half elf with a stern gaze, hands resting firmly on her hips. "Why are you all leaving? It's dangerous out here at night, yeah?" she scolded them, before casting a glance over her shoulder when there was a yell within the town. "It's not safe to speak here… Where are you going, anyway?"

"North west. We can't use the Ossa Pass," Kratos answered before either Sam or Claudia could. There was no need for the girl to know everything.

"Ah, Iselia! Or Colwyn, maybe." Pressing a thoughtful finger to her lips, she frowned. "Dangerous up north, though. Lots of monsters."

"Please don't say that…" groaned Claudia, hanging her head.

Tittering softly the half demon soon snapped her fingers. "You need a guide?"

"You're headed for Iselia?" Sam asked, his voice almost hopeful, and when she shook her head he drooped visibly.

"No, but it's on the way. Mama told me to go Colwyn-way, to avoid guards for a few days."

This cheered Sam up in mere moments, but Kratos was curious about her destination. "Where is it?"

"North of Iselia, yeah? Past the old temple, in a cove at the end of the coast. Very pretty," she smiled, gesturing upwards and making her bracelets jingle again. "Catch a boat back in a few days, when the guards are gone."

"It's a port?"

"Yeah. No guards. Don't know 'bout it."

This seemed like the perfect opportunity to find a way north. "Does the boat go to Flanoir?" Kratos asked, and both Sam and Claudia perked up.

A little confused by his question, Valanoir nodded all the same with her puzzled smile. "Round trip: Colwyn, Flanoir, Izoold. Cheap too." Awash with relief Claudia and Sam visibly untensed: hopefully they'd be home soon enough.


	9. Drops of Red

Great crimson rivers ran down Claudia's neck, mixing effortlessly with the rain beating down on them with a harshness only nature could provide. It stained her clothes, running down her exposed collarbone and upper back, contrasting clearly with the top of her yellow shirt. She did her best to wipe it away with the back of her arm, chest heaving as they trudged through pools of mud, her sword at her side as she kept a constant lookout behind them for any more beasts that dared venture too close to their small group.

Sam was close by, his hood pulled up but not doing particularly well against the weather, and he was looking guiltily at his friend. "I'm really sorry Claude! I swear...!"

"If you're not careful, I'm going to smack you one," she grumbled, wiping her dripping hair out of her face, which was also red with dye.

"Do you want my jacket-"

"No I do not want your jacket!" He flinched and recoiled at her snapping tone, which made her sigh and place an apologetic hand against his arm. "I'm already soaked. There's no point ruining your jacket now."

They'd been walking for almost two hours, and the trees were near. If the heavens hadn't split, they would've arrived sooner, and without the occasional pack of wolves or vicious birds they would've taken even less time, but so was life. There was no guarantee that they'd be able to rest once they arrived at the wood either: the ground would be soaked and there were probably more monsters considering the lack of civilization out here. But Sam, Claudia and Valanoir were already exhausted hauling what they had through the pouring shower, struggling against the sucking mud and the sideways rain.

Holding up an arm to shield his eyes from the downpour Kratos was leading, making sure all three were still following close behind. It was at times like these his angelic senses were incredibly useful, giving him the upper hand at seeing through the haze of the rain, the dark beneath the cloudy sky. Only a step or two behind him were Sam and Valanoir, the rose-haired young woman arm in arm with the half elf as he stumbled through the grass and did her best at keeping him on his feet, whilst Claudia brought up the rear with her weapon drawn. Since the first wolf attack she'd been reluctant to sheath her weapon.

But the forest was dense, much to their relief. Wet patches were at a minimum even in the heavy rain, only a slight drizzle reaching them through the thickly woven branches, and the moment they were beneath the canopy the youngest three collapsed with relief. Dropping their possessions they sat against the trunks of the trees with their caked legs sprawled before them, doing their best to catch their breath. Kratos was still on his feet, looking around the dark woods with caution.

"Can we just sleep here...?" Claudia asked helplessly, with Valanoir leaning heavily against her shoulder. It wasn't the best idea, but being stranded in the dark and the rain like this they didn't have much of a choice in locations to rest, especially considering Kratos' lack of knowledge of the new landscape. Placing his bag amongst theirs by the tree he was eventually sat down as well, his gaze out on the field. Hidden somewhere in the distance was Izoold, its denizens now most likely dealing with the mess the Eques had left during their search for the missing prisoner. The parallels between these soldiers and the Desians were worrying, but so far there didn't seem to be any sign of pointless executions and ransacking for new captives. They seemed to be trying to uphold the law, but they had such a fierce stranglehold on the region that anyone still seemed applicable for arrest.

Looking once again at the three in his company he found both young women already fast asleep, leant against each other and the tree and curled up against the cold. Despite the humidity they would be shivering in no time, but so long as they slept for now they would probably be alright.

Sitting as close as possible against Claudia's other side Sam had drawn his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, keeping a worried eye on the darkness that loomed behind them. Compared to his laid-back and carefree attitude from the past few days this was a stark contrast: the dark rings beneath his eyes were obvious against his pale skin, which had lost what little colour it had from two almost sleepless nights, and the exhaustion was clear in his voice as he heaved a weary sigh. Rubbing his arms he shuddered, still dripping wet from the rain just like the rest of them.

"Are you alright?" He jumped when Kratos spoke, and sighed softly as he nodded, rubbing his tired eyes.

"I'll be fine..."

"Are you afraid of the dark?"

Running a hand through his hair his gaze was eventually downcast, his arms hugging his knees again. "A little... I have been since we moved to Flanoir. Since before then, actually..."

"You weren't born there?"

He shook his head softly. "No, I'm from Sybak, but something happened and we moved to Flanoir. I wasn't very old at the time."

"Was it something to do with the Eques?"

"Probably. I don't remember."

Another quiet sigh escaped the young half elf as he leant back against the tree, bringing a hand to his bandaged arm and beginning to play with the knot.

"I gotta start picking my fights better..." he mumbled, before reaching for his bag instead and rummaging through it. "I hate soldiers..."

Kratos couldn't help but huff softly in amusement. "Hm..."

"Oh, uh, thanks by the way." When Sam said this Kratos looked blankly at him, only to find him smiling sheepishly. "You saved us in Triet. If you weren't there, I'd be locked up for sure. I just realised we hadn't thanked you properly." He jabbed a thumb at Claudia, who was still sleeping soundly despite the pinky-red droplets running down her cheeks. "Well, she did, but I wanted to say it myself."

Drawing his knife from the cuff of his boot he cut the knot of the dirty bandage and started unwrapping it, wincing softly as he peeled it from his greying flesh, and once the last piece had fallen to the floor the relief on his face was obvious. Balling up the old cloth he cast another wary look around the forest- the wind had picked up and was causing the branches to sway- before pressing the new roll against his palm.

A little awkward, he did his best to wrap it tidily around his hand without trapping his thumb, and managed to get the whole of the grey area covered after a little difficulty. When he realised that he needed help to tie the knot at the end he looked at Claudia, who was just as asleep as she'd been five minutes ago, before looking pityingly at Kratos. When he gestured for him to come closer he did so willingly, extending his arm with a grateful smile and a small mutter of thanks. The work he'd already done was untidy around his hand, threatening to come loose with even the slightest of glances, so without a word Kratos re-wrapped the whole of his arm before tying the knot at the end. Admiring his work afterwards Sam thanked him again with a smile.

"You haven't really slept properly for a while either. I can keep watch for now," Sam offered, pulling out his pocket watch and squinting at the face. "I'll wake Claudia up in... three hours, or something. I don't think I could sleep right now anyway." With nothing more than a nod Kratos was soon leant against the tree again, but despite closing his eyes he knew he wouldn't sleep either. He was much too accustomed to staying awake for days on end; if anything, he was surprised the two of them hadn't noticed sooner.


	10. Pleasantries

Of the five tables situated in the room only two were still available, dotted with used mugs and plates and left pretty much unusable. Picking up a tray and cloth the lady behind the bar sighed at the mess laid out before her: you just couldn't get the staff these days. The three girls she'd hired always left her plenty to do after rushes, but she knew that without them she'd never make it through the breakfast, lunch and dinner rushes. If only they'd clean the tables before they left for their breaks...!

"Good morning Sophie!" She looked up towards the stairs as someone made their way down into the main room, and rested her hands on her hips as she watched a dark-haired young man approach her.

Putting the tray back on the counter top she shook her head at his positive attitude, heading behind the bar again and grabbing a glass from one of the shelves underneath and handing it to him. "Whenever you're back here there's always a noise about you!" she tutted, making him grin as he sat down at the bar.

"I know you miss me when I'm gone."

"Only until you come back and make a mess of the place again," she replied in a huff, placing a jug of water before him as well. "So, are you here because of the escapee too, Greyson? Or was this just a 'happy' coincidence?"

Pouring himself a glass of water he gave the dark-haired Sophie a curious look, eyebrow arched as he raised the glass to his lips. "Escapee? I'm here on vacation."

With a knowing nod she picked up the tray and cloth again, holding it to her chest as she crossed her arms with a thoughtful hum. "My sister called from Izoold. Apparently they're looking for someone after this huge fuss in Triet. There's a prisoner from the desert, and a half elf travelling with two redheads," she explained, walking back around the bar to clear the tables.

The young man looked intrigued, and took another gulp of water. "Why're they after a half elf?"

"Apparently he shot a guard. Captain of the desert troops."

"Ah, that blonde bastard deserves it..."

When the little black bell above the door chimed Sophie turned to greet her latest customer, and smiled warmly at the young woman who'd just entered, looking cold and damp despite the clear morning after the storm last night. Shrugging off a muddy jacket she made her way to the bar, and collapsed onto a stool with a heavy sigh. The man looked her up and down as he placed his glass back on the counter, leaning against it with his feet resting on the lower bar of his stool, looking like a perched bird.

"Well you look like you've been through hell and back!" he chuckled, and the woman scoffed, running her hands through her dark, greasy locks and grumbling at the knots. "Where're you from? I haven't seen you around here before."

"Oh, we're just passing through. Waiting for the boat," she replied, dusting mud from her striped tights.

Dishes clattered when Sophie returned to the bar, drawing the attention of both seated as she lifted a second glass from beneath the counter. "Did you walk through the storm last night or something? You look like you could use a bath," she said, and with a helpless moan the new arrival slumped across the wooden table top.

"I think I'm going to die...! Please say you have a room!" she whined, her eyes wide and pleading as she looked up at Sophie.

The dark haired woman was already smiling back in amusement, one hand resting on her hip as she leant casually against the bar. "For how many?"

"Four of us. Well, I want the bath by myself," she chuckled awkwardly, before casting a glance out the window towards the tiny dock. "Uh, when does the boat for Flanoir come in?"

Sophie and Greyson exchanged glances, with the young man eventually drawing a silver pocket watch into view. "They usually make port at about midday-"

"So it'll be here in an hour?" The girl sounded worried at the realisation, but the young man lifted his hand to stay her when she stood up.

"An hour and a half, but even then it doesn't leave until about two. They need fuel and stuff, and it takes a while to move luggage and cargo."

She sat back down with a sigh, her shoulders relaxing a little as she let her hands rest against the table top. "Okay... okay, that's alright."

Amused by her behaviour Greyson watched as she slumped slowly back into her seat, and gestured to Sophie for more water. "So where're you from? You look like you've been dragged through a hedge backwards," he commented, earning himself a sarcastic smirk as the girl removed her gloves, her hands clean and clear underneath.

"Such a charming thing to hear after two nights with no bath and no sleep. You're making me feel extra special today... whoever you are," she huffed in reply, tying her limp locks back with one of the leather bracelets from around her wrist. Pouring her a glass of water he placed it before her with the same amused smile still pulling at the corner of his lips. Sophie left the bar, rolling her eyes as she took the bowls and mugs to the kitchen.

"Lloyd Greyson," he said, extending a hand in greeting. Smiling back tiredly she took it and shook it.

"Claudia Morgans."

"I must say I don't see that many new people around here. People usually just stay on the boat- if they're here to get on they just arrive and go straight," he explained with his own glass in hand again, before gesturing over his shoulder to some of the people who were sat at the table behind them. "These guys are usually here anyway, so they don't count."

Claudia looked around them a little awkwardly: now they were all looking at them, and with a sheepish smile she turned back to her water. "Yeah, well... we normally catch the boat in Izoold. This was actually kinda impromptu..."

"Going for Flanoir then?"

"Of course."

"Heading back or visiting?"

"Ah, heading home. This trip took a little longer than planned..."

When he lifted his glass she gave him a bemused look, but he gestured for her to do the same.

"I hope you have a pleasant trip back, then," he chuckled softly, earning another smile from the woman. When their glasses met with a gentle ring the door behind them opened again.

"Thanks-"

"Claude, what're you doing? I thought you were finding us a room!" Downing what was left of her water she turned to the blustering storm that was Sam in a bad mood, and hopped off the chair with a sigh.

"I did find us a room, but we won't need it for the night. Boat's not leaving 'till about two, so I'm having a bath."

As the now irritated and still mud-caked young woman walked by him Sam, who was just as equally irritated and just as muddy, crossed his arms and looked back towards the door. Claudia headed to the kitchen and stuck her head inside, and was soon heard talking amiably to Sophie as her half elf friend stood awkwardly by the bar. When he noticed Lloyd peering at him he crossed his arms a little tighter.

"W-what...?" he huffed, but before the man could reply the door opened again, and in stepped Valanoir and Kratos, the young half demon carrying a paper bag in her arms and beaming pleasantly despite the layer of brown across her skin and clothes.

"You found a room, yeah?" she asked, joining Sam at the bar.

Claudia soon returned with a key clenched in her hand, and looked around the small brown group. "Wow, we really need a wash... Come on, the landlady said we can wash our clothes really quickly too."

"Great! Didn't bring any nice spares with me...!" Valanoir chirped as she followed Claudia, while Sam nervously checked his watch again.

"Do we even have time to wash our clothes...?"

They headed for the stairs, but as Kratos passed by the man at the bar he caught him staring curiously at him. Lloyd turned in his seat to face him properly, and brought a thoughtful hand to his chin. "Do I know you?" he asked, but Kratos shook his head. "Hm... Must be someone else. Sorry to bother you."

Kratos followed the three teens up the stairs, watching as they headed for the third door down, but as they headed inside he heard a female voice from below.

"Isn't that a 'half elf travelling with two redheads'?" The woman's voice was low: clearly this wasn't a conversation she wanted the other patrons of the bar to hear.

There was a gentle scrape of a wooden stool being moved, and Lloyd chuckled softly. "Yeah, but I'm on vacation. If any soldiers turn up, it's not my fault."

* * *

"Oh sweet Martel, that's disgusting...!" Having dumped most of their possessions in an untidy mountain only a little inside the door the three young adults were taking off their shoes: Sam kicked his off at the end of a bed, whilst Claudia and Valanoir were sat on the floor to remove theirs a little more carefully. The eldest of the three was the one to mutter this, grimacing as she pulled off one of her boots to reveal mud stained socks wrapped around her feet. Peeling that off as well, she recoiled in horror. "I'll never be clean again..."

"Never ever, methinks..." Valanoir sighed, chipping off mud that caked her sandals to her feet.

Pulling his shirt and waistcoat off in one go Sam soon had his hands to his belt buckle, and once his trousers were off as well he was left in just a blue vest and shorts. Only his arms were smeared with mud, and his hair just looked more unruly than usual. But he quickly pinched his nose. "We stink."

"Well duh: we haven't washed in days," retorted the once-red headed woman still sat on the floor, kicking her boots away from herself. "Sorry, but I think I get the first bath."

"What are we supposed to do? Just stand around out here waiting until you finish?" Sam shot back incredulously, and with no other comment Claudia disappeared into the bathroom. "W-wait! You take _forever_!"

The Greyson man was still at the bar when Valanoir and Kratos headed back downstairs, and greeted them with a polite nod of his head as Sophie approached them. "How can I help?" she asked with her warm smile, which Valanoir couldn't help but mirror.

"Ah, do you have more baths? My friend takes time, which we don't have, yeah?"

"More baths? Well, you could use the ones in the empty rooms for now..." Once again the landlady disappeared into the kitchen, this time with Valanoir in tow, leaving Kratos with the man at the counter.

He looked up at Kratos with the same curious gaze as he had before, his arms crossed in thought. "I could've sworn I'd seen you around before. You don't own a boat, do you?"

"No."

"Hm..."

"Here Kratos; the lady said you could use room three!" Valanoir returned swiftly, holding out a thick brass key to the mercenary. "We can eat afterwards. First, we clean!" She trotted away back up the stairs, her long pigtails swinging behind her, followed at first only by the gaze of the man at the bar. Without a word Kratos started after her, but the man held up a hand to halt him.

"Oh, but you're taking the boat right?" he asked, and though Kratos didn't acknowledge this he continued. "Be careful: people are talking about trouble on the routes recently. Rebels against the Eques have been targeting ships on the short trips. Just thought I'd warn you: Miss Claudia looked pretty eager to get home to Flanoir." After a long pause, Kratos gave him a stiff nod before heading back up the stairs.

* * *

"So they're looking for escapees, yeah?" Running a comb through her long pink locks Valanoir was sat cross-legged on one of the two beds in their room, watching Sam as he wrapped a fresh bandage around his arm. He was sitting at the small table in the corner of the room with Kratos, who was once again looking over his map.

The boat route went from Colwyn, the town they were currently in, around to Flanoir, then Izoold. The small spit of land they were on stretched around the cliffs along the old Martel Temple, near Iselia. Judging by their position from Iselia itself, the old temple, and what he could recall was the position of the old Human Ranch... He hated maps, especially when the landscape changed.

"Yeah. A group escaped from the desert prison, so the Eques tore Triet apart before coming to Izoold," Sam explained, extending his arm to Kratos with a pin clasped between his index finger and thumb, who fixed the bandage in place for him without even looking.

"Ooh..." Valanoir hummed with intrigue, her fingers following the little green comb on their journey through her hair. Claudia was sat with her on the bed with another comb in hand, helping as best she could to sort out the waves of rose pink hair, her own mop already arranged as she wanted. Only vague traces of the dye remained, giving her dark brown hair a vaguely orange tint in the light. "They after you as well?"

The hands through her hair halted, and she looked quizzically from Sam to Claudia as they cast each other an awkward glance.

Drawn back to the conversation by the sudden silence Kratos turned his attention back to the three teenagers, and found all eyes were on him. "What?"

"I don't know: they stopped talking," Valanoir pointed out to him with a shrug, beginning to arrange her hair into a braid. Shaking his head, he went back to the map.

"Uh..." Sam hummed awkwardly, drumming his fingers against the table once or twice, whilst Claudia had started twiddling her thumbs.

"They're... not after us exactly..." said Claudia, casting another glance towards Sam and Kratos, before Sam shook his head with a sheepish smile.

"We just got a little mixed up with them! When we get back to Flanoir, it'll be fine!"

Valanoir nodded with a grin. "So they _are_ after you!" Sam ran a hand despairingly down his face at her reply, which was just a little too enthusiastic for his liking. "What happened? You don't look like criminals!"

"We're not criminals!" he squeaked back, a little more high-pitched than he'd anticipated.

"Why are you avoiding the Eques?" Looking instead at Kratos when he asked this Valanoir hummed dejectedly, her smile turning sad but remaining on her features.

"Ah, mama- my real mama- was Gorgon," she explained, and Sam nodded knowingly.

"I noticed you were... well..."

"You're part demon?" Kratos enquired, and she nodded as she tied the end of her plait.

"You can't tell?" said Claudia, to which Kratos nodded.

"I knew there was ancestry in you, but I didn't realise you were a direct descendant. But why avoid the soldiers because of that?"

"Ah... they're a little..." Sam seemed a little awkward about explaining, leaning against the table and running a hand through his damp hair. "...Well, half elves get it bad anyway, but half demons get a lot more flak..."

"Why?"

All three exchanged bemused looks, Sam and Claudia a little more unsure and only managing vague shrugs, but Valanoir squared Kratos with a solemn look. All trace of her usual positivity was gone, her features grave. "Soldiers think demons are a lesser species. Dangerous beings; belong in dungeons; no rights, even if they speak and think."

Her gaze downcast, she played with the bells of her anklet like a scolded child. "My mama..." Neither Claudia nor Sam could bring themselves to look at her, and Kratos watched as she shook her head and rose to her feet. Forcing a smile, she bowed her head apologetically. "Ah, sorry! I don't mean to be sad," she laughed softly, awkwardly, before walking past them to the door.

"Where-" Sam started, and as he started to stand up she waved a dismissive hand at him, still smiling almost painfully

"No, no! Only going for walk! I want to clear my head, yeah?" she quickly explained, and before either he or Claudia could say another word the door had clicked shut behind her. They cast each other guilty glances, the older of the two sighing as she ran her hands across her face, before Sam looked around for a pair of shoes.

"Damn it..." Having gone barefoot Valanoir could leave right away, but Sophie had taken their shoes as well as all their clothes to wash: what they were wearing now were things she had to spare. None the less Sam was soon going to the door as well, leaving it to swing shut behind him as he headed down the hall, and not long afterwards Claudia followed.

The door was left open, swaying ever so slightly in the breeze coming from the hallway, and with a soft shake of his head Kratos folded his map and stood up. If the man from the bar was connected to the Eques it was probably best to keep an eye on them, in case they wandered into trouble.


End file.
